Clark Atlanta University students make their mark on the art and fashion world

ATLANTA — Two students at Clark Atlanta University are taking the art and fashion world by storm.

They learned from the best of the best in Paris, France.

Channel 2’s Berndt Petersen was on the campus in southwest Atlanta, where he learned this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

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Amari Franklin says she always loved to play dress up. 

“When I was probably about five, I would always wear different things and try to stand out the most,” Franklin said.

Now she’s a designer of fancy clothes and one of the top students in Clark Atlanta University’s Art and Fashion Department.

Franklin and classmate Ficara Akins are going places.

“I’m still at a loss for words and in amazement that I was able to go and be in the Paris, France,” Akins said.

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The two were selected to represent CAU in a global master class. They will be learning in what is arguably the art and fashion capital of the world.

“They are exceptional young women. We have a single mom of two little ones. God bless her in the first place. The other young lady—Amari—is in a wheelchair. She had a tragic thing happen several years ago but she came back strong,” CAU Art and Fashion Chair BJ Arnett said.

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Fulton County’s Fashion Art Culture and Education initiative funded the trip.

The students say Clark Atlanta is already preparing them for a bright future, but their experience in Paris has taken it to a new level. 

“I was able to make connections with people I never thought I’d sit in the same room with—or talk to—or even give a hug to,” Franklin said.

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