For the second year in a row, students, parents, school staff, community members, family and friends gathered together at IAO Gallery in downtown to view almost 200 works of art created by Oklahoma City elementary school students. The All Access Arts Showcase took place on Sunday, February 10th, to once again celebrate our talented student artists and the teaching artists that help facilitate their work.
The annual exhibition highlighted the best student art from 14 All Access Arts sites, as selected by each site’s teaching artist, and featured a video compilation of this year’s dance classes. Each student in the Showcase received a Certificate of Achievement signed by All Access Arts Director Jillian Coker and Arts Council Oklahoma City Executive Director Peter Dolese in recognition of their work and creativity throughout the school year.
“The All Access Arts Showcase is very special to us because it allows us to show off the amazing work our students and teaching artists have created this year. The chance to see your art in a beautiful gallery like IAO’s, when discovering and practicing art is so new, is an invaluable experience for our students.” – Jillian Coker
This year, Arts Council OKC provided 12×12″ chipboard pieces to each student to use as a canvas; the young artists were then given specific parameters by their teachings artists. The result was an impressive array of works displaying various artistic mediums and disciplines. Guests mingled in the gallery with hors d’oeurves courtesy of Mickey Mantle’s Steakhouse, while students eagerly posed for photos by their pieces. The event was a wonderful celebration of the arts, community, and the impact of arts education on young lives.
Represented Sites:
- Memorial Park Boys & Girls Club
- Cleveland Elementary
- Edgemere Elementary
- Eugene Field Elementary
- KIPP Reach College Preparatory
- Shidler Elementary
- Edwards Elementary
- Hawthorn Elementary
- Sequoyah Elementary
- Wheeler Elementary
- John Rex Charter Elementary
- Lee Elementary
- Mark Twain Elementary
- Putnam Heights Elementary
All Access Arts is an Arts Council Oklahoma City program that provides participatory arts enrichment to under-served children across the city through in-school and after-school programs. Every day of the school week it reaches over 4,000 students across 16 sites. This program and exhibition would not be possible without our dedicated teaching artists, community partners, volunteers, and sponsors–thank you to all.
2019 All Access Arts Showcase
