The Savannah African Art Museum team is excited to share their expansive collection this week with a very special group of young people through a virtual tour organized in partnership with Inspiritus.

Inspiritus is a multi-state nonprofit with locations in Atlanta, Savannah, Rome, Nashville, TN, and Birmingham, AL. The social services agency works with thousands of individuals and families each year to provide disability, foster care, family intervention, adoption, refugee and disaster response services.

The third- through seventh-grade refugee students served by the organization will enjoy a livestreamed virtual tour of SAAM’s galleries on Thursday, July 2. Guiding them through the museum will be Cameroon native Maxime Mballa-Tagny, a former docent, now SCAD graduate and the museum’s Design & Guest Services person. 

Inspiritus offers after-school programming with refugee students in the Savannah area. They gather a few days a week to provide homework help during the academic year. In the summer, Inspiritus staffers don’t see the students as often, but they do still offer some fun and educational options, such as trips to Butterbean Beach and museum visits. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made it challenging to gather in person, but the agency’s staff is still trying to organize some summer activities for the children that can be done remotely. 

The live stream participants are mostly from elementary school with a few from middle school. They speak English to varying degrees and are mostly from the Congo and Afghanistan. Lisa Jackson, the museum’s education coordinator thought SAAM’s youngest staffer, Mballa-Tagny would make the perfect tour guide for the group. Having lived in various African countries and cities in the U.S. growing up, he’s sensitive to a child’s acclimating to a completely new environment. Another asset is that he speaks fluent French, which is the official language of the Congo; thus, the tour can be interspersed with a little French along with English.

“We’re so glad Inspiritus reached out to us and expressed interest in having their students view our collection. We love sharing our artwork and artifacts with patrons of all ages and backgrounds – this is a wonderful opportunity to do just that,” Jackson said. “When safety regulations permit, we hope the students will come with their families and visit us in person.” 

To learn more about the museum, please visit www.savannahafricanartmuseum.org. For information about upcoming events and the museum’s collection, please follow SAAM on Facebook @SavannahAfricanArtMuseum. To learn more about Inspiritus and their mission, please visit https://weinspirit.org/.