The Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art will display its annual Youth Art Month exhibition throughout the month of March on the museum’s second floor.
The exhibition is open Tuesday through Sunday during the Eskenazi museum’s business hours.
National Youth Art Month, which was instituted in 1961, is coordinated by the non-profit Council for Art Education. The month-long celebration highlights visual art education and student artwork across the country.
For the Eskenazi exhibition, K-6 art teachers within the Monroe County school system select up to eight works of art from their students to be displayed in the exhibition. Each teacher has their own criteria to select their students’ 2-D artwork.
Youth Art Month has been observed in Bloomington since 1973. In the ‘90s, the Youth Art Month exhibition began as a collaboration between IU and the Monroe County Community School Corporation.
Cheryl Maxwell, Grandview Elementary School art teacher and IU assistant adjunct professor of Art Education, collaborated with Ed Maxedon, former Eskenazi Pre-K-12 experiences manager, to create the program. Maxwell said Bloomington is full of artists and art programs that should be recognized.
“Students, being one of the biggest populations here in Bloomington, really deserve to show their work, let the world see what we do in our schools and the joyfulness of the young artists that we teach,” Maxwell said.
The exhibition, along with Youth Art Month, emphasizes the importance of youth art education. Maxwell said this education is essential in creating well-rounded students.
“Youth art education is a connection to every other subject matter,” Maxwell said. “We make a lot of connections to science, social studies, math.”
Maxwell, who submitted seven students’ artwork, said she selects students to give them an opportunity to stand out.
“It's just a really nice way to shine a little light on a few students who can really benefit from having that light on them,” Maxwell said.
Chris Straw, Lakeview Elementary School art teacher, said he thinks it’s important for kids to see their work displayed in this way.
“I really liked that the kids are able to feel part of the community and show their talents off,” Straw said. “Just like with the big famous artists.”
Straw said as an elementary art teacher, it’s critical to try to get kids excited about art while they’re young, so they continue that interest later in life. He said art can be an essential emotional outlet for young students, especially with all of the struggles that came with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Elementary art teachers have a unique opportunity to get to know students more personally, Straw said, because they see their students every year.
“It's awesome to teach elementary art because I actually get to see the kids grow up for seven years,” Straw said. “I get to see them continue year after year and watch their creativity, their interests change.”
Kelly Jordan, Eskenazi’s Pre-K-12 experiences manager, said the exhibition doesn’t just honor students, but their art teachers as well.
The Youth Art Month exhibition allows visitors a unique chance to approach artwork in a less intimidating, more curious way, Jordan said. During the exhibition, visitors can write encouraging notes to the featured student artists.
“It's just a total pure boost of joy,” Jordan said.
Jordan said the exhibition is an essential insight into how Bloomington students are thinking and feeling – which she said is an important part of connecting with the community.
“There's a generosity of spirit in kids’ art and in looking at kids' art that is really great,” Jordan said. “They’re so naturally imaginative."
