You don't have to be the best artist in your school to reap the benefits of the arts.

"The realization is we're all artists," says Brenda Durant, executive director of The Greater Augusta Arts Council.

While arts classes don't make artists, just as taking math classes doesn't mean you'll become a mathematician, she contends art should be part of the core curriculum, whether "you end up with art as a career or as a lifelong passion."

Having art in a school's curriculum increases attendance and decreases the number of disciplinary visits students take to the principal's office, Ms. Durant said. Whether it's for finishing a painting, attending play practice or other artistic endeavors, art students have an added incentive at school, she said.

"Whatever the reason, we need to get kids engaged in school," she said.

Getting into art at an early age encourages lifelong creativity.

"You want to get art into kids' hands when they still have that" urge to be creative, Ms. Durant said.

Some places you can get plugged into the arts outside of school include The Art Factory, theartfactoryinc.org; the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, ghia.org; the Morris Museum of Art, themorris.org; or Le Chat Noir, lcnaugusta.com.

Young artists in the area can apply to have a booth at the Young Artists Market at Arts in the Heart of Augusta to show off and sell their work. The application deadline is Aug. 29 and the event is Sept. 19-21.

The application, as well as other links and artistic events, can be found at The Greater Augusta Arts Council Web site at augustaarts.com.