Original art illustrating the cultural values of 97 young artists from Guatemala, the United States and 15 other countries, is on display in December at the Legislative Office Building Concourse in Hartford, CT.
The International Children’s Art Exhibit is presented by Creative Connections, in collaboration with the Rainforest Alliance and with the support of the Connecticut Commission on Children.
The exhibit is open to the public until Dec. 31, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
It’s the culmination of the ArtLinks program, which was a six-month class-based project where students in the USA and abroad create, exchange and dialogue about art pieces that represent key aspects of culture that they especially value.
“Illuminate: Bringing My Culture to Light”, the ArtLink theme for 2013 asked students to place a source of light in their art pieces that highlight aspects of their culture hidden for others.
Pieces are included from countries across the globe, including China, Brazil, Poland, Uganda, Guatemala, Russia, Jordan, Kenya, Ireland and Kazakhstan.
The program had roots in some Danbury classrooms and three students from Danbury were at the opening reception Dec. 5.to share their work: Ashley Mari Rodriguez and Joey Zuzelo from the YMCA’s Escape for the Art program on Main Street and Jadon Parris from Danbury’s Western Connecticut Academy for International Studies.
For, 2014, the program has been selected by the Ridgefield School District to be in every single elementary school making the first time it will be present on a full district-wide initiative.