Love,
diversity, friendship and hope
Monday,
April 11, 2005
By
Ruth Nerhaugen Staff Writer
© 2005 Red
Wing Republican Eagle
Four large paintings by young people in a local program
for abused children are featured in a special exhibition in
St. Paul commemorating this week as National Crime Victims’
Rights Week.
The young people of Kids Count, a youth advocacy program
operated by the Red Wing Area Coalition for Transitional Housing,
undertook the project through ArtReach, and they spent a year
painting images that reflect four key topics: love, diversity,
friendship and hope.
They created four panels which were chosen to be part of
the “Art of Recovery” exhibition sponsored by the Minnesota
State Arts Board and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety
Office of Justice Programs.
The exhibit opens today and will remain on display in the
Arts Board office gallery through May 31. It will be part
of the St. Paul Art Crawl in April.
ArtReach and Kids Count developed the project in fall of
2003. It was decided to paint four large Masonite panels each
2 feet by 4 feet depicting subjects that reflect expressions
of nonviolent situations. The young people chose the topics,
according to ArtReach’s Maggie Paynter and Kids Count’s Susan
Albarado-Grand.
• Love: Hearts and swans, classic symbols of love, represent
the theme, while the rainbow depicts the promise of love.
Words that are reflected in the water all are extensions of
love.
• Diversity: To create this, the most difficult of the paintings,
the young people studied drawing and painting. “We focused
on learning the features of many ethnic groups,” Paynter said,
and studied new painting techniques. “This picture evolved
into a work of art that represented the best in all of us.”
• Friendship: The universal symbol of hands is a sign of
friendship. “Whether one is holding, shaking, using a thumbs-up
or indicating peace, these symbols are a language understood
by all,” the leaders said. “The bold colors reflected our
mood of friendship.”
• Hope: This panel expresses what the future and the students’
dreams could be. They decided to use a passage of Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr.’s “I have a Dream” speech as a way to show
that their hopes and dreams are everybody’s hopes and dreams.
The young artists worked once a week after school and throughout
the summer to finish the panels one year after the project
was conceived. The purpose of the project was to use art as
a vehicle to express compelling subjects. The project also
developed skills in problem solving, planning, organization
and working from start to finish.
Participating students were Tiffany, Dennis, Tilly, Matt,
Linea, Julian, Stacia, Justin, Calvin, Passion, Courtney,
Hannah, Charkiris, Sheila and Keisha.
Their panels are the only artwork from young people in the
show; all the other participating artists are adults.
“Art of Recovery” features art by Minnesotans who
have been the victims of crime and have used art to respond,
explore, express or heal, said Sue Gens, director of communication
and government relations for the Minnesota State Arts Board.
The Kids Count Program was created to provide safety and
support to children through age 18 who have been abused or
witnessed violence.
The Creative Kids program at ArtReach “offers children from
chaotic, stressful lifestyles an opportunity to release pent-up
emotions and express them in a positive and appropriate manner
through art,” Paynter said. “Art is an excellent vehicle for
releasing stress, developing problem solving, planning, and
organizational skills, and enhancing social skills.”
For more on the program, go to http://www.arts.state.mn.us/exhibit/Paynter.htm.
The Arts Board gallery is at 400 Sibley St. in St. Paul.
It is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through
Friday, with extended hours on two days -- from 8:30 a.m.
to 10 p.m. on April 22 and from noon to 10 p.m. on April 23.
Call (651) 215-1604 or (800) 866-2787.
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