Dunbar students in Sandy Lane’s class participating in art projects taught by SVMA instructor Gayle Manfre. Photo submitted.
“Animal Stories” is the theme for the 8th annual Art Rewards the Student (A.R.T.S.) exhibition.
Part of the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art’s education outreach to the Sonoma Valley Unified School. District, the free public exhibition of student artwork is at SVMA from Saturday, March 14, through Sunday, April 5. “Animal Stories” is inspired by animals in their environments and will showcase student artwork created by 750 elementary and middle school students.
Supporting the educational component of SVMA’s mission, the A.R.T.S. program, coordinated for the 2008-09 academic year by Robyn Muscardini, emphasizes cultural diversity, professional art instruction, and art appreciation for youth. It encompasses a variety of activities.
Last fall, fourth and fifth grade students from Dunbar, Sassarini, El Verano, Flowery, and Prestwood Elementary Schools received professional classroom instruction by SVMA art instructors in a variety of art media. “Animal Stories” inspired young artists in the creation of projects that included ceramic fish, paper butterflies, spiders, painted masks, gourd animals and nests, and frogs, to name a few. The final week of the exhibition, elementary school students will visit SVMA on field trips to view their work and the work of their peers in a professional museum setting.
SVMA art instructors Jane Antee, Deborah Colotti, Diane Egger-Bovet, Jan Hansen, Natasha Jacobsen, Cheryl Laube, Gayle Manfre, Rosemary McNeely, Gillian O’Donnell, Andrea Patri and Elizabeth Tashman collaborated with Linda Yaven, associate professor at California College of the Arts, and with classroom teachers to design projects and lessons that supported classroom curricula. The resulting individual and group works will provide the majority of content for the “Animal Stories” exhibition, along with selected pieces by students from Adele Harrison and Altimira Middle Schools, Sonoma Charter School, and Presentation School.
Eleven high school students are working to design, install, and promote the exhibition. The 2008-09 A.R.T.S. interns are Abraham Duran, Chan Lee, Chan Saechao, Joey Fegan, Max Vandergraaf and Nick Lim from Archbishop Hanna High School, and Kyndra Menefee, Rachel George, Shawna Bertlin, Stephanie Lyon and Soid Rodriguez from Sonoma Valley High School.
Advised by SVMA mentors Lucy Hamlyn, and Katie Sammon, the high school interns have been studying the principles of design, color, and various observed installation techniques. Their coursework has included field trips to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Museum of the African Diaspora, MOCHA (Museum of Children’s Art) and artist studios. Interns will also visit the Oakland Museum of California and the California College of the Arts. Interns have assisted SVMA art instructors by repairing, photographing, and cataloguing student artwork and preparing it for storage before the installation of the exhibit.
The “Animal Stories” exhibition will be on view at SVMA, 551 Broadway, in Sonoma, Wednesdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission will be free to the public.
An Educator’s Reception will be held at SVMA on Thursday, March 12 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The reception will give school district administrators and teachers a sneak preview of the A.R.T.S. exhibition. The members’ preview will follow immediately after from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
On Sunday, April 5, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., SVMA will host a free Community Day featuring live entertainment and art activities for children and adults.
The A.R.T.S. program is funded by donations from the Vadasz Family Foundation, Sonoma Plein Air Foundation, Community Foundation Sonoma County, Target, and Frank and Arlene Keesling.
