Imagination and creativity can go a long way.

Two students from Kelly Middle School and two students from Edison Elementary School have had their art selected for an exhibit in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Department of Education headquarters. The national exhibit, titled “Museums: pARTners in Learning,” includes 67 pieces of artwork by children in grades K-12 from across the country.

In collaboration with the Association of Art Museum Directors, the UO’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art submitted the work of the four students as one of 16 university museums participating from around the nation. The four young artists from Eugene range in age from 7 to 13 years old, and their artwork is diverse in both content and method.

Influenced by a Schnitzer art program, “Thinking through Art: Connections through the Arts,” the Kelly students created self-portraits using colored pencils and canvas. At Edison, one student produced a mixed media piece called “Lobster Dinner,” while the other student used watercolors for a piece named “Eat better! Still Life.”

At Kelly Middle School, the art program was intended to help students make connections between art and visual literacy, critical thinking skills and language development. At Edison Elementary School, the program was conducted in conjunction with several guest speakers from local farms who taught students concepts such as shapes, colors and symmetry while also promoting healthy eating habits.

Art programs put on by the UO museum serve more than 5,000 children in schools across the state every year. The museum also provides workshops for K-12 art teachers as a curriculum resource in October soon after school starts and on occasion throughout the rest of the year.

―By Nathaniel Brown, Public Affairs Communications intern