The Turner Center for the Arts held its second annual Art Instructor of the Year Reception on July 29. The center employs more than 20 art instructors throughout the year.
 
Photography instructor Javon Longieliere has been an instructor at the center for nearly two years, teaching more than 113 students to date in both beginner and advanced photography sessions.
 
Longieliere has been aptly named as the center’s 2019 Art Instructor of the Year.
 
“I learn and experience just as much as these students do each time we get together for a class,” said Longieliere. “We have so much fun and really learn what each others needs are, which make the classes very mutually beneficial. Now that I’ve started with the center, I just can’t imagine not doing this every week.”
 
Longieliere is renowned for his destination wedding photography and his continual support of his craft throughout the region. He has published a book titled, “Destination Weddings” and more recently was published in Digital Photo Pro magazine.
 
At the reception, Lowndes-Valdosta Arts Commission Board President Jeani Synyard, Executive Director Sementha Mathews and Art Education Administrator Debi Davis each publicly thanked the teachers and instructors for their time and dedication to the Turner Center for the Arts, noting that the center’s goals and overall mission would be impossible without each of them.