WIMBERLEY — Founded in 2019, ProjectART Wimberley has been aiding to both keep art in Texas schools and provide creative access for students in the Hays County area.
“I used to be a public school art teacher in Austin ISD — and so did one of our other founding members, Jamie Pettit — and when I moved to Wimberley, I really wanted to continue my work with students and art education,” explained vice president Jennifer Ober.
This goal led the nonprofit to initially focus on supporting the art programs in Wimberley schools by providing tools and equipment that teachers didn’t have access to prior, due to their budget, in an effort titled Amplify the Art Room.
The first year, explained the vice president, the organization raised funds for a kiln for one of the elementary schools in order to have clay inside the classroom: “We really focus on tools and equipment that will be there for many years to come.”
Most recently, ProjectART helped to purchase all of the basic supplies for an art classroom, such as drying racks, when Danforth Junior High School made the decision to hire a second full-time art teacher.
As the program has expanded, it also started ProjectMENTOR, which is a spring semester program for middle and high school students that pairs those chosen from applications submitted in September with a local artist.
“They work together to create works of art, one of which is displayed at the end of the semester in a gallery show,” said Ober. “So, they get to see the whole process from conception to sale and see the business side of art in addition to the creative side.”
Since acquiring their own space in the past year, students in this mentorship program will also learn how to sign gallery contracts and how to price their work, as they will be displayed at ProjectART’s gallery.
This additional space, located at 111 River Road #100, Wimberley, offered more opportunities for the nonprofit, as Texas State University professor Jules Buck Jones acts as curator for the gallery shows held in fall and spring.
The new space allows students to be more involved in every step of the gallery process, Ober said. They also expanded their mission to involve all students, not just those in grade schools, so Texas State University students are now involved, as well.
“We have students with [Jones] as curator to help understand how he selects work. We have them work with our preparator, so they understand how to hang work and how to handle artwork, how to package artwork when it's done for shipping back,” said the vice president.
Classes to all students, not only Wimberley ISD, have started to be offered after school and in the summer, as well as a teen club that will begin February, said Ober.
“Our mission is really to support and enhance youth art education and so, for the students, our mission is to make sure that we remove the barrier of access to the art by offering tuition assistance … So, there’s a way for students to get in as low cost as possible or no cost, if needed. We’ve never turned anyone down so far,” explained Ober.
Tuition for students to participate in the classes is funded through grants, ProjectPROM — which is an adult prom held every two years — and by community members becoming sustaining partners. These partners pay $10 each month, or more, and receive 50% off all student classes. Additionally, some families do pay the full tuition, which aids the program, Ober said.
“In rural Texas, there isn’t so much access to art for kids … How do our kids in rural towns compete with kids in big cities who can [go to art schools]?
We think that being involved in our gallery and our classes and our support of our local schools can help give them a leg up.”
To aid this tuition assistance, there are also community classes for adults that the nonprofit occasionally offers.
“I think a lot of kids hear from their families — and I did, as well — that you can’t make a career in art and so, we want to really show the students that there are all of these people in their community who are making careers out of art in one form or another. We’re exposing kids not just to art projects, but also the business side of the art world,” Ober concluded.
For more information, visit www. projectartwimberley.org.
ProjectART students pose with their completed paintings.
