Honors Visual Art Exhibition + CreatorKids
April 27 – May 14, 2017
CreatorKids takes artists and the Minnesota Museum of American Art directly to elementary students in Saint Paul Public Schools. This year, through a unique fusion of spoken word and artmaking, students expressed themselves individually and collectively while building visual literacy, critical thinking, vocabulary, and confidence. A sampling of works from the M’s collection grounded students’ work and offered an initial creative spark. Zetta Elliott’s book, Milo’s Museum, laid the groundwork for talking about the impact of seeing one’s self and community reflected in the art of a museum.
Teaching artists See More Perspective and Teresa Cox invited students at Galtier Community School, in grades 3 through 5, to consider themselves as poets and visual artists with unique perspectives on art and the world – each with points of view worth sharing and owning. See More Perspective prompted the young creators to write spoken word poems which you may listen to in the gallery. Teresa asked students to create their own individual symbols by identifying personal traits and then assigning emotion, color, and shape to them. What emerged are the mixed media, collaged pieces strung together into two group installations, on view at the M.
With the Honors Visual Art Exhibition for 2017, the Minnesota Museum of American Art continues a dynamic collaboration, now 26 years strong, with Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) and Ordway Center. The exhibition celebrates the competencies, creativity, and achievements of student artists from each SPPS high school. The works on view, all made by St. Paul Honors art students, demonstrate a variety of pathways to artistic self-discovery—from technically disciplined to playful, by turns globally-minded and highly personal.
Exhibition-related programming:
CreatorKids opening reception and program: Thursday, April 27, 5 p.m.
Honors Visual Art Exhibition opening reception and program: Thursday, April 27, 6 p.m.
Minnesota Museum of American Art
Meet this year’s batch of talented student artists from St. Paul Public Schools and their dedicated teachers, and see their artwork on view in the gallery.
Materials Lab
Bring your family and try your hand at making the same kinds of artwork created by the students at Galtier Community School in our CreatorKids residency. Teaching artist See More Perspective prompted the student artists to write a spoken word poem with: “This is who I am. This is where I’m from.” Make a poem of your own and leave it on our Response Wall, after listening to the students read their lines via the QR codes posted in the gallery. Visual artist Teresa Cox encouraged students to create their own individual symbols by identifying personal traits and then assigning emotion, color, and shape to them. Use the supplies on hand in the Materials Lab to make like Prince, and create your own personal symbol.
This activity is made possible by the voters of MN through the Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. The exhibit and all related programs are free and open to the public.
Image credit: Ho Yang, Alluring Nature (detail), colored pencil. Grade 12, Washington Secondary School
