Arts Council Billboards Feature Lansing Youth Art MSUFCU and Adams Outdoor Help Support Youth Art Month
LANSING, Mich., March, 2, 2017 – March is Youth Art Month, and in celebration of the incredible young talent in the capital region, the Arts Council of Greater Lansing is excited to feature the work of ten Lansing-area youth artists on digital billboards around the Greater Lansing region.
Launched in 1961, Youth Art Month is a national program, which emphasizes the importance of the role of the arts in a child’s education and why all children deserve to have a quality arts education program as part of their school curriculum.
As part of our advocacy work to support arts education, we have partnered once again with Adams Outdoor Advertising and Michigan State University Federal Credit Union to present our “Support Young Creatives” Billboard Project and advocacy campaign. Adams and MSUFCU are both longtime supporters of the arts in our region, and their generous sponsorship helps make this project a reality for our young artists.
The billboards feature the works of Max Boyang, Kinawa School; Casandra Walker, Charlotte Middle School; Joshua Wood, East Olive Elementary; Emily Beeman, Ovid-Elsie High School; Mariah Munro, St. Johns Public Schools; Sophia St. Germain, Lansing Catholic High School; Makenna Smieska, Post Oak Elementary; James Morrison, East Lansing High School; Lucy Watkins, Donley Elementary; Kate Horst, Haslett High School.
All of the works were submitted by Metro Lansing-area teachers and final pieces were selected based on composition and overall visual elements, including roadside appeal, as well as their combined representation of ages and regions.
“The Arts Council is so pleased to support young creatives in our area through our Young Creatives Program,” says Deborah E. Mikula, Arts Council executive director. “We are grateful to Adams Outdoor Advertising and MSUFCU for supporting the billboard project and making it so successful. This project showcases student work in an exciting way that puts focus on the importance of arts education and builds pride, confidence and reverence for the arts in our young people.”
A press event, with all billboard artists and their families in attendance, will be held on Tuesday, March 8, 2017, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. at Adams Outdoor Advertising on Capital City Blvd. in Lansing, Mich. and an exhibition of original billboard art and works by other youth artists will be on display through March at the Arts Council.