EL Artists Welcome Kyra Sampson

by Head of Community Engagement Gordon Mathis

Galloway’s new Early Learning art specialist Kyra Sampson has enjoyed a lifetime of involvement in the arts; her grandmother, brother, and sister are all artists. After receiving her degree in elementary art, Ms. Sampson taught for eight years in KIPP charter schools in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Atlanta.

Before coming to Galloway, Ms. Sampson investigated the school. “I fell in love with the Happening,” she remembers and fondly recalls the interaction among the art teachers at all three learning levels. She recognizes that art plays a large role at Galloway and says she is grateful for the collaboration with other EL arts teachers, especially her formal “mentor”, creative movement instructor Juana Farfan, and her art suite neighbor, EL music teacher Linda Floyd. 

Ms. Sampson has already immersed herself in the Atlanta art scene. She is a member of BeltLine Public Art Advisory Council, which allows her to review work before it is installed on the Beltline. This partnership has introduced Ms. Sampson and her students to a number of local artists to collaborate with over the years, including Karen Anderson Singer - better known as Tiny Doors ATL. Ms. Sampson also has frequently found herself inspired to pursue art as a response to the social justice movement of the past several years. 

Ms. Sampson is currently planning an installation art project with fourth grade students. The students will study the background of twentieth century artist Wassily Kandinsky. They will make and paint concentric circles on  papier-mâché bowls which Ms. Sampson will hang like a mobile outside the EL art room, creating a visually engaging environment outside the EL specialists’ classrooms. 

We look forward to seeing Ms. Sampson’s inspiration in action!