The Wisconsin Art Education Association (WAEA) Youth Art Month Southeast Regional Show has been going on for around 50 years. The show took place at UW-Whitewater’s Crossman Gallery the last two years.
Previously, the show took place at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts in Brookfield. While there were multiple reasons why the show was moved to the Crossman Gallery, the main one was that the show outgrew the space.
“The show started relatively small and then with promotion, advertising and being a teacher longer, you have more people in your circle; more help, more teachers, and then you need a bigger venue,” said Natalie Kotnik, the WAEA Southeast vice president.
The gallery held the show’s reception Feb. 14. The gallery was filled with starstruck parents, excited students and proud teachers. Over 45 schools, from kindergarten to high school, entered this year’s show, with each art teacher submitting three to five of their students’ artworks. After the pieces were submitted to the show, it was a group effort from numerous art teachers and the association to narrow down pieces that would move on to the state show in Madison.
With the number of pieces that were received, it wasn’t easy to choose. After a lot of discussions that took half a day, they decided that 75 out of approximately 180 pieces would be shown at the state show.
Jessica Michels, a high school art teacher from the University School of Milwaukee, had three of her students’ pieces chosen to move on, and two who had received special awards.
“We’re always talking about making art and how important it is for the future because if we don’t have art, that’s not going to be really pleasant,” Michels said. “Every time kids are in a show like this, it’s a little bit of a feather in their cap, and I think [it] really opens their eyes to a whole other world of possibilities.”
While not every piece moved on to Madison or won an award, every student took pride in their work. Some students eagerly had their photos taken next to their works, and some stood next to their piece to show others that they were the ones who drew it.
“I feel like too often in this day and age the arts are being pushed aside, devalued and defunded, when to my mind art is our humanity,” Crossman Gallery Director Ashley Dimmig said. “[Art is] a way of expressing themselves, a way of exploring the world around them, and we should allow space for that.”
Moments like these help students see the world through a more imaginative and appreciative lens. Not only do shows like this become lasting core memories, it also helps give them a glimpse into what their future could be, a future where they continue art as either a hobby or potentially a career.
