Student art show closes with reception, awards, silent auction
April 13, 2023 | By Waterbury Roundabout The closing reception for the “Leading Art Forward” exhibition of Harwood Union student visual art at the Grange Hall Cultural Center in Waterbury Center happens this Saturday, April 15, from 2 to 4 p.m.
Hosted by Across Roads Center for the Arts, the free event will include the announcements of this year’s academic scholarship grant, the Mitch Siegel Emerging Artist Award, and the Janet DiBlasi Creative Curriculums Award (both described in the original post below).
It also will include a silent auction to support 2024 awards. The auction is currently live online through 3:30 p.m. Saturday and bidding will be available at the reception. Bids are welcome regardless of whether bidders attend the event. Find the auction online here.
Harwood Union visual arts teachers Wendy Peterson Rand, Nathaniel Furlong and Krista Verriotto. Courtesy photo
Curated by members of the Across Roads Center for the Arts board, the exhibition on view since mid-March is an “eclectic and striking body” of two- and three-dimensional student artworks created under the guidance of art teachers at the Harwood Unified Union School District, organizers said.
The public is invited “to celebrate the young talent in our community and the gifted teachers who offer such meaningful guidance and artistic technical instruction at our schools,” the group said in its announcement. Light refreshments will be served. The Grange Hall is located at 317 Howard Avenue, Waterbury Center.
Original post is below
Art show to celebrate local student artists & arts education
March 11, 2023 | By Waterbury RoundaboutArt by local public school students will be the focus of a special show at the Grange Hall Cultural Center over the next several weeks.
Self-portrait graphic design | David Boucher, 12th grade, Harwood
From March 18 to April 15, Across Roads Center for the Arts invites the community to an exhibition titled “Leading Art Forward: A Community Art Show” highlighting student artists and art teachers in the Harwood Unified Union School District. It aims to celebrate student work, visual art education and the creative connections between students and teachers.
An opening reception with the teachers and students whose work is featured is scheduled for 2-4 p.m. on Saturday, March 18. A second larger event with a silent auction is planned for April 15 to wrap up the show and present two awards.
In between, Across Roads is accepting applications for the awards with a deadline of March 25. The two awards are the Mitch Siegel Emerging Artist Award and the Janet DiBlasi Arts-In-Curriculum Award.
The Mitch Siegel Emerging Artist Award goes to a graduating high school senior who plans to pursue the arts beyond Harwood Union High School. Students must submit an application sharing this pursuit, with examples of their work, an explanation of their artistic process and philosophy, their creative goals, and their plans to reach those goals. The 2023 award will be $1,000 and emerging artists in all mediums will be considered.
Illustration | Maya Whitehair, 10th grade, Harwood
The Janet DiBlasi Creative Curriculums Award is presented to teachers at the elementary and middle school levels who are injecting arts into their curriculum in innovative ways. This grant celebrates creative work being brought to and accomplished in core curriculum classrooms. It acknowledges efforts to explore and expand the vital role of the arts in all sectors of education and the community that reaches students who may not necessarily immediately align themselves with the arts. Applications are open to any educator or team of educators from Brookside Primary School, Crossett Brook Middle School and Harwood Union Middle School who are working to include art-making as an intentional part of their program, and use the arts as a critical component of connecting core curriculum standards with meaningful art applications. The 2023 award will be $750.
Jewelry | Lucie Ruggiero, 12th grade, Harwood
Guidelines and forms for both are simple and available by contacting info.acrossroads@gmail.com.
This year’s awards will be presented at the April 15 celebration from 2 to 4 p.m. which will close the exhibit, and support the Across Roads Center for the Arts annual scholarship program with a fundraising auction.
Across Roads Center for the Arts is a nonprofit community arts organization based at the Grange Hall Cultural Center, 317 Howard Avenue in Waterbury Center.