AUBURN, Ala. – The City of Auburn Parks and Recreation Department and the Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center (JDCAC) are proud to announce the 26th annual Adventures in Art program, presented in collaboration with the Alabama State Council on the Arts. This year's theme, "Adventures in Art: The Gulf," will take place Aug. 31–Sept. 4 for all Auburn City Schools fifth-grade students.

This year, JDCAC welcomes the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve from the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Their educational outreach team will lead students in a workshop exploring the longleaf pine ecosystem and the gopher tortoise. Graduate student Rae Nawrocki will lead a workshop focused on the adaptive reuse of ash from controlled burns to create printing ink. Students will make their own tree-ink prints that will collectively create a forest installation. Ceramic Studio members will guide students in creating a large gopher tortoise ceramic mural for each school. JDCAC staff will also lead a gallery talk featuring the Pines Series collection by local photographer Chuck Hemard.

The JDCAC is honored to showcase Hemard's work, a lifelong resident of the American South whose photography explores contemporary landscapes. His Pines Series, which documents remnants of old-growth longleaf pine forests across the Deep South, was published as a monograph by Daylight Books in 2018. Hemard is an associate professor in Auburn University's Department of Art and Art History.

The exhibition will be open to the public Aug. 31–Sept. 4 from 12:30–9 p.m. The Adventures in Art program, held daily from 8 a.m.–12:30 p.m., is not open to the public.

Adventures in Art is partially funded by a grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts. Auburn Parks and Recreation extends heartfelt thanks to all sponsors, hosts and community members for their support of and contributions to the Adventures in Art program. Special thanks to the Alabama State Council on the Arts, Auburn Arts Association and Auburn Area Community Theatre. Your contributions make Adventures in Art possible!

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Adventures in Art is one of many programs the City of Auburn and its community partners are pleased to present for students from Auburn City Schools. Over the years, Adventures in Art has become an anticipated arts education program. For more information, contact Emillie Dombrowski, Art Education Specialist with the City of Auburn at edombrowski@auburnal.gov