via Dougherty County School System
To boil it down to a single word, Nathan Le is simply talented. The 4th grade Lake Park Elementary School student held nothing back when his teacher assigned him and his classmates an art project with historical implications.
“We wanted to get as involved as possible in the Dougherty County Historic Preservation Commission Art Contest so I told the students to find a building or place that was more than 50 years old and to do an art project around it,” Art Teacher Allison Starr said. “They had a choice between doing a drawing, a painting or a sculpture and Nathan chose to do two.”
And while his drawing of Radium Springs Gardens is no less impressive, it was his sculpture of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce building that caught the eye of his teachers and classmates.
Built in 1917, the building is unique to downtown Albany in that it is the only structure in the area that has a complete marble façade. Originally a bank, the building now serves as the headquarters to Albany’s chief advocate for business and the entrepreneurial spirit.
Le’s version, which is made out of white Lego blocks and other various materials, is so remarkably detailed that it features a hinged roof that pivots upward to reveal a hard working employee at a desk and a customer perusing through the building inside.
When asked why he chose the chamber building for this particular project, Le’s practical side answered.
“It was really the only building that I had enough pieces for,” he said.
It took the industrious student five weeks to complete the project. The finished product garnered enough attention at his school that word eventually leaked out to Bárbara Rivera Holmes, the interim president and CEO of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce and the Albany Convention and Visitors Bureau, who just had to see it.
“It’s really exciting to see one of our Dougherty County students take such interest in our historical buildings, so when I saw what he had created out of Legos … A., it’s a marvel of art and B., the significance it has for the community,” Holmes said.
For his hard work and creativity, Holmes brought Le an “Only One Albany” hat to wear around school on Wednesday.
The miniature office building had quite the impact on Le’s classmates and teachers. When asked what the response was, the fourth grader was pretty clear.
“There was a lot of gasping,” he said with a smile.
Le’s sculpture and drawing will be among a host of other student work on display at the Albany Area Arts Council beginning May 7 when the competition winners are announced during a special event at the AAAC’s downtown location.
Holmes says that she’s glad to see that students are taking an interest in Albany’s historical contributions and hopes that teachers and students will continue to showcase all the unique things the city and county have to offer.
“It’s critical for us as a community to engage our youth both in local matters. It’s exciting to see one of our own students take such interest in one of our historical buildings and love it so much that he’s recreated it,” Holmes said. “It’s a great compliment of young ingenuity and something fun with the historical significance of the chamber building.”
Regardless of how Le fares in the competition, Holmes promised the young creative mind that she would put his piece on display at her office, complete with a little plaque giving him full credit for his creation.
“This is a great example of ‘Only One Albany,’ Holmes said. “Only One Albany is about rediscovering what makes Albany special and restoring community pride, and this is a beautiful example of children really taking an interest in our community. It’s thrilling.”
Tags: Albany Area Arts Council, chamber of commerce, Dougherty County, Dougherty County Historic Preservation Commission Art Contest, Lake Park Elementary, There's Only One Albany
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