Young Creatives Billboards Campaign Features Area Youth Art–Arts Council of Greater Lansing Announces 2024 Youth Billboards Program
Each March, the Arts Council of Greater Lansing celebrates Youth Art Month with the launch of their Young Creatives Billboard Project, funded in part through a partnership with Adams Outdoor Advertising. The program shows students and the community how valued art is and the potential impact it can have on anyone who views it.
The “Support Young Creatives” Billboard project is a component of the Arts Council’s Young Creatives Program, which provides resources, funding and advocacy highlighting the importance of creativity in education. The program invites all Ingham, Eaton and Clinton County school district teachers and homeschool educators to submit a piece of student art for an opportunity to have the work displayed on Adams Outdoor Advertising digital billboard spaces throughout the Greater Lansing Region during the month of March.
“This program is such a great opportunity for the young creatives in our region,” said Arts Council executive director, Meghan Martin. “This annual campaign focuses a light on our area youth artists and speaks to the importance of creative expression and arts education, while also offering beautiful and whimsical public art for all to enjoy,” Martin said.
This year, 16 original artworks were submitted by Greater Lansing area teachers and six final pieces were selected for the billboards based on composition and overall visual elements, including roadside appeal and their combined representation of age, school district and county.
The 2024 Young Creatives billboards feature the art of the following youth artists:
Colton Czanstke, Cole Academy East, Cole Academy School District, second grade—teacher, Layna Lesnau
Ellie Dart, Okemos High School, Okemos Public Schools, twelfth grade—teacher, Amanda Welch
Aleksandra Flores, MacDonald Middle School, Ingham County School District, tenth grade—teacher, Susannah Van Horn
Paige Kutas, Lansing Catholic School, Diocese of Lansing School District, tenth grade—teacher, Ron Krauss
Amy Lee, Okemos High School, Okemos Public Schools, twelfth grade—teacher, Rachel Hollenback
Emerson R., St. Martha School, Diocese of Lansing School District, second grade—teacher, Elizabeth Wylegala
“The Young Creatives Billboard Program could not happen without the support of our area educators,” said Martin. “We are extremely grateful to all of them for their participation and the work they do to keep the arts alive in our schools.”
The Young Creatives Billboard Program and annual campaign is sponsored by Adams Outdoor Advertising, MSUFCU, Michigan Arts and Culture Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Calls to teachers for next year’s program will go out in December 2024.