Kuba, kids and an airport: how one community celebrates art & imagination. (Community connections).(art project)

Connecting the Kuba and kids to one of the world's busiest airports may seem an unlikely match, but Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and the project were a natural fit. Not only did exhibiting the students' work enable the airport to support the Phoenix educational community, the exhibition provided the public with access to stunning original works of art.

"The Kuba Project: An Exhibit of Gigantic Proportions" had its genesis in fall 2001 when South Mountain High School art teacher Michael Prepsky saw an exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum. Titled "The Eye of Shamba," the artworks were the work of Dr. Eugene Grigsby, Arizona State University art professor emeritus. His exhibition was inspired by his doctoral research about the Kuba people of the Congo.

Prepsky, who is a creative …