Beacon's Young Artists Open Exhibit

Students, teachers and members of the community gathered at the   Wednesday night for the opening reception of Beacon Charter High School’s student art exhibit.

The exhibit is located on the second floor of the museum, in a large, open room lined with artwork. Those attending enjoyed catering by Beacon culinary student/artists.

Suzanne Russell, Beacon’s school based coordinator, booked the venue a year ago.

“And I already booked it for next year,” she said. “The space is beautiful; the lighting is beautiful. It means a lot to the kids to show their work like this.”

Patricia Hawkridge, Beacon’s artistic director, said the collaboration with the Museum of Work & Culture has been “inspiring,” adding that it has opened up possibilities for other projects.

“We encourage students and families to explore Woonsocket,” said Hawkridge. The museum tells the story of French Canadians who traveled from farms in Quebec to work in New England mills.

The exhibit features pieces from many talented students from several grades. Rosabel Forte, a junior in the visual arts program, has two pieces featured in the exhibit, both created with acrylic paint. Forte posed for Patch in front of “Arbor Day,” a piece she said was inspired by a cemetery in Massachusetts.

Forte chose to attend Beacon to focus on developing her artistic talents. “The art classes are more in depth,” she said of the school.

Forte plans to continue her study of art in college, considering schools such as Rhode Island School of Design and Montserrat College of Art in Massachusetts.

Mary Auclair, also a junior in the visual arts program, is happy to be attending Beacon, rather than the public high school. “I’ve always been drawing constantly,” she said. “I kind of just fell in love,” she said of her time at Beacon.

Auclair hopes to continue her studies, focusing on visual advertising, cartooning or animation.

Maxell Silva, a sophomore, has a piece titled “Lobotomy,” made with markers, colored pencils, ink and spray paint.

Like Forte and Auclair, Silva said, “I’ve always drawn my whole life.” In fact, most of his family is involved in the arts. His older brother, Mike, was part of Beacon’s first graduating class.

Forte, Auclair and Silva are just the type of students that Beacon attracts, said Jason LeClair, a visual arts and theatre teacher.

“We have a variety of different artists, from traditional, tight pencil work, all the way to senior level work… seniors have a lot more freedom,” said LeClair.

LeClair has been teaching for 12 years and at Beacon for the last 4 years. “One thing that’s different about Beacon…we bring that real world experience that [the students] might not get otherwise,” he said.

In addition to being a teacher, LeClair is an artist, writer and theatre professional. All of the teachers at Beacon have a professional background, he said. “Our goal is to train an artist.”

Part of that real world experience is student participation in community outreach, such as the Providence Street Painting Festival and work with AS220 in Providence.

“We try to get them out to show their work as much as they can,” said LeClair.

Students are not only trained to be artists, but they also learn about art history in a “strictly traditional curriculum,” said LeClair. “Our job is to give them a really solid foundation in visual arts.”

Students travel from as far as Middletown and West Coventry to study at Beacon Charter High School. And many of them have already selling their art for several years.

“They want to learn,” said LeClair. “They want an artistic challenge.”

The student exhibit can be viewed now through March 26 at the Museum of Work & Culture.