THOM 14 | Fall/Winter 2020

“The education is the focus, but magic
happens when it is experienced
in an inspiring space.”
backgrounds, cultures and life experiences.
And Thomasville Center for the Arts’ director,
Michele Arwood, knew that art centers can
provide an inspiring and neutral ground for
connection. The Center’s former downtown
location in the heart of the Creative District
made it an outstanding home for the coLAB; it
was also within walking distance of program
partners the Marguerite Neel Williams Boys &
Girls Club and You’re Maker art studio.
Leaders from all the organizations came
together to dream up what a collaboration
between them could look like. While all
agreed that equal partnership, cross-cultural
communication, leadership and community
involvement would be program goals, there
was no template for designing an equal
collaboration between an independent school
and a public school.
To construct one, the group took a page from
educators across the world who are retooling
their institutions to meet the needs of a 21stcentury
workforce and using creative education
as a way to close the skills gap.
One note that stands out: Place matters.
“When designing programs to ignite creativity,
we’ve learned an important lesson,” Arwood
explains. “The education is the focus, but
magic happens when it is experienced in an
inspiring space.”
She cites the book The Third Teacher, by
CannonDesign, VS Furniture and Bruce Mau
Design, which began a conversation among
the group about how design informs teaching
and learning. “United in the conviction that
environment is our children’s third teacher,”
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