Besides Stunning Art, NK Student Art Show This Year Includes Two Firsts

Interested in getting a peek into the minds of North Kingstown’s young people?

Then this year’s North Kingstown School Department Student Art Exhibition at the North Kingstown Free Library is worth a visit.

More than 300 pieces of student art will be on display, from pencil drawings and paintings to sculptures and objects too unique for a label.

An opening reception is on March 3 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the library and this year’s exhibition is exciting because it’s the first time that the school is partnering with the North Kingstown Arts Council to recognize the International Day of Color, which celebrates the use of color in art and media.

“Color is one of the seven elements we study,” said Janice Lee Strain, visual arts coordinator at North Kingstown High School, who noted that there’s another first for exhibition this year: visitors can leave comment cards for individual artists.

“It really gives [the students] the whole picture, of not just a teacher creating a project or problem to solve and the student solving the problem, but the journey out into the world and how people react to art,” Strain said. “How it makes them feel, what it reminds them of, and you know, if they were amazed. It’s a full circle that comes back to the student and they realize the effect it has on someone.”

Students designed eight different comment boxes, one for each of the eight different schools represented in the massive exhibition, which includes art from the smallest kindergarteners to high school seniors with a few Scholastic Art awards already under their belts.

“It’s a must-see for parents of student artists, family members, patrons of the library and everyone else,” Strain said. ”The librarians themselves can’t wait to see the show every year, it really brightens things up.”

After a tough winter, the exhibition offers the perfect blast of much-needed color and this year, color features prominently thanks to the collaboration with the North Kingstown Arts Council to recognize the International Day of Color.

The International Colour Association, a nonprofit, designated spring equinox as the International Day of Color each year. This year it falls on March 21.

Arts council members have always enjoyed the student exhibition every year, and this year, they realized it offered an opportunity to recognize students for their use of color in art. The result is that one student from each of the district’s eight schools will receive an award, including a ribbon, certificate and book, The Secret Language of Color.

On Saturday, March 21, the council is offering a free presentation by Jason Travers, a Providence artist and teacher, about the history and innovation in the use of color in art.

Further information can also be found on the North Kingstown Free Library website. http://www.nklibrary.org/programs/north-kingstown-schools-art-exhibit-reception-0

http://www.nklibrary.org/programs/international-color-day-north-kingstown-history- innovation-use-color-art

North Kingstown is truly a haven for artists, young and old alike, and according to Strain, this year’s exhibition is sure to amaze.

“We really push students ability and to find their best potential,” she said. “It’s great to see them confronted to create works that reflect society and how they feel about it.”

And, best of all, it’s “to celebrate the arts,” Strain said.

Images:

1. Kali Melone, Grade 10 — Immortal
2. Emily McMillan-Palla, Grade 12 - Roots
3. Emma Dimaria, Grade 10, Set Free