Special to 1812Blockhouse
Spring has sprung and for our local art teachers, this means art show season! Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center is excited to host their annual Artapolooza Fine Arts Festival from April 12 through April 17 at the Mid-Ohio Conference Center at 890 W. Fourth Street in Mansfield.
“This year’s event is shaping up to be exceptional with approximately 36 school buildings participating,” stated Jennifer Pennell, Mid-Ohio ESC Gifted Education Consultant. Sherri Richter, Gifted Education Consultant and Pennell are co-coordinators of this year’s event. “This event has evolved over the past several years to include facets of all arts areas. We are excited to include music and dance performances this year!”
Vocal students from Northmor will perform on Friday evening, April 12, beginning at 6:30 PM and dancers from Richland School of Academic Arts will perform at 2:00 PM on Saturday, April 13. Both performances will take place in Artist Hall within the Mid-Ohio Conference Center.
The art gallery will be open on Friday, April 12 from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Saturday, April 13, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Sunday, April 14, from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The gallery will also be open during the week on Monday, April 15 through Wednesday, April 17, from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
This year the art awards presentation will be held on Wednesday, April 17 at 6:30 p.m. in Artist Hall. A slideshow presentation and gallery walk will also be available on Mid-Ohio ESC’s website at the end of the event. “This will allow the public to be able to view the gallery and awards virtually as well,” stated Pennell. Mid-Ohio ESC would like to thank Schmidt Security Pro for their generous support of Artapolooza and for funding the awards.
As in years previous, Artapolooza will be accepting all types of visual art projects: paintings, drawings, sculptures, as well as mixed media and digital art. Pennell emphasized that students from all area schools, not just MOESC member districts, are welcome and may submit projects for the festival.
Mid-Ohio Esc is also pleased to present an artist’s workshop on Monday, April 15 for middle school and high school students and their teachers with teaching artist Luke Beekman of DoJo Comics entitled, “Art and Story Fundamentals 2.0.” Students will learn the basics of graphic novel and comic book design including character and story design. Although this is a follow-up presentation to last year’s workshop, students new to graphic novel design will be able to participate. Registration for the artist’s workshop is closed, but if anyone is still interested, please contact Jennifer Pennell at [email protected], and you will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Seats are limited to ten per district.
Director of Leading and Learning, Amber Clay-Mowry, stated “Education in the arts fosters student engagement in communicating, innovative thinking, creativity and problem-solving. Mid-Ohio takes pride in highlighting the dedication of local schools to nurturing vibrant art programs. The art show & workshop unites a diverse collection of talented student artists, featuring their original works across various mediums.”
Pennell further stated, “Artapolooza is about celebrating the arts, something that is important to every child’s education. We are supporting the belief from the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce that education in the Fine Arts is essential in developing the whole child.”
Mid-Ohio Educational Service Center provides specialized academic and support services to 13 school districts and over 20,000 students in Crawford, Morrow and Richland Counties. Client districts receive services from curriculum, gifted and special education consultants, speech pathologists, psychologists, special education teachers, occupational therapists and physical therapists
Source: MOESC
