Art has been proven to help develop motor skills, visual-learning, decision-making, creativity and more in children, but it is not always made a priority in financial commitments or curriculum in some schools.

Filling the gap in that education in Newton County is the Southern Heartland Arts non-profit organization. Monte Carlo for the Arts, the organization’s annual fundraiser, funds many of the programs, workshops and activities that bring the arts to children and adults.

“We provide scholarships for graduating seniors interested in the visual arts; we have a non-profit art guild open to any artist or person who would like to join our support in the visual arts; and we have scholarships for children whose parents cannot afford ongoing arts education,” said Susan Wahl, co-chair of the event.

Proceeds from the Monte Carlo night, sponsored by United Bank and ACS, provide the operating revenue for instructional programs and its scholarship program, and gives local artists a space to create. This is the ninth year for the event, which will be held Saturday, Feb. 6, at the Georgia Piedmont Technical College’s Event Center on Bobby Williams Parkway.

A full-course buffet will be provided by Stalvey’s Restaurant in Covington. Door prizes, valued between $50 and $100, will be awarded.

There will also a silent auction featuring original art and a live auction featuring dinners and vacations in Florida and North Carolina.

The cost is $50 per person for open seating, or $500 for a reserved table for eight. Space is limited to 200 people and deadline for reservations is Jan. 25. To reserve a seat or table you can go to Southern Heartland Gallery at 1132 Monticello Street or call 770-788-8799.

Southern Heartland Art and its gallery have been located in the Covington Square since 2004 providing a source for the visual arts and serving Newton, Walton, Morgan, Jasper, Butts, Henry, Gwinnett, Rockdale and DeKalb counties.