March Is Youth Art Month
You know that phrase “young at heart”? In a clever play on words, the Rehoboth Art League (RAL) tweaked the popular saying for its annual Young at ART children’s exhibit during the month of March—also known as Youth Art Month. It is one of many visual arts projects taking place in March (including one at CAMP Rehoboth) and one of the most extensive. The evolution of Youth in Art Month is impressive but a bit complicated.
The Art and Creative Materials Institute (ACMI) organized “Children’s Art Month” in 1961 as an event that celebrates and promotes the arts and art education across the country. Members of this trade association produce art materials so it was in their best interest, but it prompted a worthy endeavor.
In 1984, ACMI created the non-profit organization called the Council for Art Education (CFAE) to advocate for visual art education. CFAE coordinates Youth Art Month nationally to encourage support for quality school art programs. It provides a medium for recognizing skills developed through visual arts experiences that enhance other curriculum subjects, including problem solving, creativity, observation, and communication.
The Delaware Art Education Association (DAEA) is heavily involved with the promotion of Youth Art Month throughout the state with a program called March for the Arts. It encompasses visual and performing arts in K-12 schools in Delaware. Art shows, special exhibits, fundraisers, and school and community activities take place annually.
Association President Liz Long says a virtual exhibit of children’s art will be on display on the DAEA web site, and the association is participating in a national flag display under the guidance of program director Jennifer Boland.
“Teachers submit digital images of two works of art for a month-long social media campaign focusing on the benefits of visual arts for K through 12 students,” explains Boland. “We are also using these images to advocate for Youth Art Month at the legislative level, all in conjunction with the Delaware Arts Alliance.” The group also selects a student-made flag to be flown at the National Art Education Conference which, this year, is being held in Minneapolis.
The RAL’s Young at Art exhibit is a major endeavor. Education Programs Director Paula Holloway sends out a blanket invitation for the show and it is up to school art teachers to decide if they will include their students in the program. Typically, 300 students from 30 elementary, middle, and high schools, primarily throughout Sussex County, participate. One of the schools is Beacon Middle School in Lewes where Alexander Louvis has been the art teacher for 17 years. His big challenge is to select 10 art entries from a pool of about 700 students.
His classroom is filled with thought-provoking reasons why art is important, and he frets that art has been cut back from curricula at schools. “Visual arts tap into a different range of ability levels for students, compared to science or math,” he says. “We need to nourish them to help kids grow.”
This year, the Young at Art exhibit runs from March 16 to March 30 in the Corkran and Tubbs Galleries on the League’s campus at 12 Dobbs Lane. “Everyone is a winner in the Young at Art Exhibit,” Holloway says. “It is an honor to be one of only 10 students to be chosen to exhibit from each school. Every child receives a ribbon.” Some of the high school students, says Holloway, go on to attend art school.
The forerunner to Young at Art took place in 1959 when RAL hosted an exhibit entitled Delaware Festival of the Arts. It highlighted student fine and industrial art from Sussex County schools. The Young at Art exhibit debuted in 1996.
Ganter says that she hears from many people who visit RAL and mention that, when they were young, they got into the Young at Art show, and they have fond memories of coming into the gallery with their parents to see their art on the wall.
CAMP Rehoboth’s youth art exhibit during March is called ART4Change: Youth Art for a Greener Earth. It is targeted to developing artists aged 16-21 and it runs from March 16 to April 20 at the CAMP Rehoboth Gallery on Baltimore Avenue.
On-going youth art programs are also offered by local Boys and Girls Clubs and the Lewes Public Library. Library programs are held on the third Wednesday of each month from September through May. Classes for kids K-second grade are 5:00-5:45 p.m., and for “tweens”—third through the fifth grade—from 6:00-6:45 p.m.
RAL’s Summer Camp program is wildly popular with several of the class offerings already filled. Learn more at rehobothartleague.org. ▼
Mary Jo Tarallo is a former journalist and public relations professional for various non-profits including a ski industry trade association. She won a Gold Award for a United Way TV program starring Oprah Winfrey.
Photo: Alexander Louvis; credit: Mary Jo Tarallo