Elementary students to showcase art at UA’s Paul R. Jones Museum

Fifteen students from Arcadia Elementary School will display their artwork alongside pieces from the Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art at the University of Alabama’s Paul R. Jones Museum from Jan. 10 to Feb. 23.

During the semester, Dr. Lucy Curzon, UA associate professor of art and art history, worked with students once a week in an eight-week partnership class to sketch, draw, paint portraits, make collages and build musical instruments in the context of learning about jazz music and its relationship to the Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art.

“Our focus was on historic and contemporary jazz music and its relation to line, color, form, rhythm and mass,” Curzon said.

The students’ works will be displayed alongside the images that inspired them. Collection artists whose works will be on display include Torrai Caldwell, William J. Anderson, Oggi Ogburn, Paul R. Jones, Louis Armstrong, Charles D. Rogers, Lois Mailou Jones, Shelia Turner, Charles Lee and Duke Ellington.

The public is invited to attend the exhibit, “All That Art! All That Jazz!” free of charge.

Students from Tuscaloosa City Schools at the Paul R. Jones Museum, which houses a large collection of African-American art, early in the museum’s K-12 initiative. (University of Alabama Department of Art and Art History)

The late art collector Paul R. Jones donated his large collection to the University of Alabama in 2008. (University of Alabama Department of Art and Art History)

Students tour the Paul R. Jones Museum of American Art. The museum will feature an exhibit on art and jazz beginning Wednesday. (University of Alabama Department of Art and Art History)

A gelatin silver print of Cheryl Lynn by David “Oggi” Ogburn is part of the Paul R. Jones Museum’s “All That Art! All That Jazz!” exhibit opening Wednesday, (University of Alabama Department of Art and Art History)

The late art collector Paul R. Jones with University of Alabama students in 2008. (University of Alabama Department of Art and Art History)

The Paul R. Jones Museum has been an important addition to the University of Alabama’s arts programs. (University of Alabama Department of Art and Art History)

The Paul R. Jones Museum has been an important addition to the University of Alabama’s arts programs. (University of Alabama Department of Art and Art History)

The Paul R. Jones Museum has been an important addition to the University of Alabama’s arts programs. (University of Alabama Department of Art and Art History)

The Paul R. Jones Museum has established a continuing relationship with Tuscaloosa City Schools. (University of Alabama Department of Art and Art History)

The Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art’s K-12 initiative started working with Tuscaloosa City Schools in 2014 to foster an interest in art among young students while building community through the public display of fine art in line with students’ interests.

The Paul R. Jones Museum honors the late Paul R. Jones, who amassed one of the largest collections of African-American art in the world. The Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art at UA includes more than 2,100 works valued at $10.3 million, which Jones donated to UA in 2008.

The Paul R. Jones Museum is at 2308 Sixth St. in downtown Tuscaloosa. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the first Friday of every month from noon to 8 p.m.

The Paul R. Jones Collection of American Art is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the university’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and Fulbright Scholarships.

This story originally appeared on the University of Alabama’s website.