ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – The Youth in Art exhibit is back for another year at the Bonifas Arts Center, showcasing some of the area’s youngest artists.
While Youth in Art is a community favorite, the exhibit is also a special one for Gallery Director Kate Oman.
“I was actually a part of this exhibit when I was in seventh grade,” she said. “That was my first interaction with the Bonifas, and look at me now! This is where a lot of our youth find their talent.”
The exhibit features 672 pieces from area schools and homeschool programs, with all grades represented. Teachers submitted their students’ artwork, some of which will receive prizes from award sponsors Billerud, the Escanaba Kiwanis Club, Michigan Education Association Coordinating Council #17B, GFWC – Escanaba Women’s Club, and the Delta Schoolcraft Intermediate School District.
“In my book, they’re all winners, because they’re in the exhibit,” Oman said. “It’s great because a lot of times, kids are busy in school but the parents don’t get to see what they’re actually doing. It’s just such a unifying moment to see the parents actively engaged with their child.”
As she watches the students develop their skills every year, Oman says their talent is inspiring, along with the dedication of their teachers.
“There’s some pieces in some of these grades that I was like, ‘I can’t even do that,'” said Oman. “One piece was dropped off in a frame, and the teacher said, ‘I had to frame this because the student spent over 100 hours on this.’ For a student in eighth grade to spend over 100 hours on a piece of art, that’s a passion that that student has, and that passion probably came because the teachers were showing the importance of art.”
Oman hopes the exhibit can have the same impact on these budding young artists that it had on her years ago.
“To be able to say that their work is in a gallery, it’s amazing what it can do,” Oman said. “A lot of our young artists are now becoming young adults who are finding their way through the arts and they’re making careers out of it, so you just never know where life’s going to take you.”
The Youth in Art exhibit is on display now through March 28. A kindergarten – 5th grade and Learning Center Open House will be held on March 13, followed by a 6th – 12th grade Open House on March 14.
