Year two of our unique IDEAL after-school residency wrapped up May 9th with a fantastic student showcase, art exhibit, and reception for family and friends at the Chrysler Museum of Art. What a joy to witness the faces of students as they first saw their artwork displayed in the gallery…. and how gratifying to hear what they learned during their ten-week exploration of self-identity through poetry, music, and visual art.
Douglass Park Elementary, Portsmouth
Cameron: “It’s fun being an artist. Whatever you make is good. It’s a masterpiece. You can make anything, and it will still be a piece of artwork. If I accidentally make something bad, I can change it to something else good. I’ve learned from my mistakes.”
Serenity: “I learned I can do art. It’s great. It’s peaceful. When you draw, everything around you is so quiet. I’ve become nicer as a person. I didn’t usually help people, but now I really help people with stuff.”
Inaliyah: “I’ve learned more about who I am and what I want to become. I want to become an artist because I want to tell people how I feel through art. My teachers taught me how to make things more expressive. I think my mind has grown more and my ability to understand others.”
Point O’View Elementary, Virginia Beach
Hayden: “I’ve learned more about myself and my feelings and my identity. I’ve learned that I can express myself through art. I think I’m more confident. I’m able to make new friends more easily now.”
Walter: “The best part of this program is that we tried doing different things, things that we don’t always try. And I feel like I learned more trust in people.”
Jack: “I’ve learned that I can express myself through art and I could draw what I feel and I could have different feelings in my art. As an artist I’ve learned different skills about how to draw. I feel very proud of myself because I did exceptional in my art piece and I’m just very happy [about it being shown at the Chrysler.]”
Southside STEM Academy at Campostella, Norfolk
Jaela: “The art that I created showed me that even if I feel bad, I can be creative. I feel I can be more confident now and more friendly to others. I used to be really shy.”
Mauriyana: “I think I’ve grown more as a person and an artist. My art style is different and the way I communicate is better. I communicate better if I’m comfortable around people. We spoke aloud on how we made our art and how our art helped us and that made me more comfortable communicating.”
Many thanks to Justin C. Mitchell of JB Digital Photography for the wonderful photos.
You can view the IDEAL students’ artwork through June 9 at the Margaret Shepherd Ray Student and Family Gallery at the Chrysler. Admission and parking are free.
