The Lyndon House Arts Center hosts the biannual ‘RE-‘ program, the Clarke County School District’s student art exhibit. The exhibition opened on October 11 and will be on display until January 14, 2023, showcasing the works of students from kindergarten through twelfth grade.
The exhibition is based on the return to “normal” that students and teachers were challenged with in the fall of 2021. This sparked the concept of what comes to mind when you think of the prefix “RE-,” Dan Smith, CCSD’s Fine Arts, Health and Physical Education Curriculum Coordinator, said in a news release. “A lot of these words may seem to point to the past, but they also point us to the future and in new directions.”
Didi Dunphy, the program and facilities supervisor at Lyndon House Arts Center, praised the wonderful interpretive versions from each teacher and class that led to the “broad and beautiful” show.
Artwork from Oglethorpe Elementary School hangs in the upper atrium of Lyndon House Arts Center as part of the “RE-” exhibition in the fall of 2022. (Photo/Hannah Yahne)
The works on display are in a variety of mediums, from drawings and collages to weaving, photography and sculpture never before exhibited. There are also great works of art that are the result of collaborative efforts between classrooms and grade levels. Each artist’s work will be published in a catalog that will be accessible to family, friends and the community.
In each section of the exhibit, QR codes are displayed for you to read booklets with teacher and student statements about the artwork.
“In a way, that’s kind of my favorite part,” Dunphy said. “I like to read what children think about when they are doing their work…as you get into the older years it becomes very provocative and meaningful.”
There are 80 prints of the student’s artwork displayed on lighted banners downtown. Students can see their works on the “big lights…downtown,” which helps “spread the show in the city…and brings pride to the education of young people here, which is very important,” according to Dunphy.
The low priority that is sometimes given to art in school lessons makes this exhibition even more important, according to Dunphy. She lists some of its benefits like developing problem-solving skills through the arts and inventiveness you garnish, and also sees it as a way to connect more and invest in their community.
The exhibition is presented during normal gallery opening hours throughout the weeks it is held. All exhibitions are open to the public and free of charge.
