|
Celebrating our student artists
By Pat Boyd, Executive Director, South Dakotans for
the Arts
Once the basketball tournaments have been completed and spring appears for real on the prairie, our schools have a great opportunity to honor and celebrate their student artists. And parents and art lovers in our communities have a great chance to see the next generation of artists emerge.
The school is the training ground for our local artists in South Dakota
communities. Second graders whose finger paintings hung on refrigerators may
have developed into high school students with a passion for creating art. The
first tentative step onto an elementary auditorium stage might lead to a
scholarship in drama, a dream of Broadway, a chance to dance.
Our students, especially our graduates, possess talents and training, dreams and
desires, ambitions and aspirations nurtured during twelve years of education and
polished by community arts events. What are we doing on the local level to give
those students an opportunity to demonstrate those talents to local audiences,
to communicate those dreams? What can we do, in each city and town, to showcase
and celebrate our student artists?
In some schools, the spring band concert provides audiences—and family
members—with a chance to see their student musicians. Solo turns by graduating
seniors focuses attention on those individuals, and all they’ve learned. Other
schools mount a student art exhibit and invite the community to view the works
created by seniors and other pupils. Schools in every corner of the state
sponsor arts awards nights, recognizing excellence among student artists. These
are great ideas, and give student artists the credit—and credibility—they need.
We need to put ALL our student
artists in the spotlight as they prepare to leave their hometown educational
institution behind. We need to find new ways to show our support for those
students, and the arts, as the school year draws to a close. We urge local arts
councils and arts groups to meet with principals and arts teachers at the local
school. Now is a great time to plan a “Local School Arts Festival” for next
year's graduates to emphasize the importance of the arts in every community.
Check out the arts in South Dakota at
www.sdarts.org, the joint website of South Dakotans for the Arts and the South
Dakota Arts Council.