Saginaw Art Museum Showcases Youthful Talent at Michigan Art Education Association Region 11 Student Exhibition Through February 24th

Several dynamic events are exhibitions are in store at the Saginaw Art Museum guaranteed to fill these cold winter days with color and excitement over the next several weeks. Following upon the heels of their successful From Medieval to Metal guitar exhibition, here’s what’s in store over the next several weeks at one of the Great Lakes Bay Region’s premier cultural resources.

The MAEA Region 11 Exhibition offers an excellent opportunity to examine the incredible and gifted talent of artwork by elementary through high school students from across our area. Region 11 covers Saginaw, Gratiot, Tuscola, Sanilac and Huron counties; and this annual student exhibition will feature works in various media, with a selection of the work that will advance to the MAEA State Art show in East Lansing. Student work will be in a variety of Mixed Media, including drawing, sculpture and painting.

The Michigan Art Education Association's mission is to promote quality visual arts education through leadership, service, and professional development.

The Museum will hold a WNEM Museum After Hours on Thursday, February 15th from 6-8pm to celebrate the student’s work. The After Hours event will be free and open to the public, providing an opportunity to visit the museum outside of regular hours and enjoy light refreshments.

According to Associate Curator Sarah Trew, “Last year we had between 150 to 200 artworks submitted from fourteen to fifteen schools that participated, so this is a fairly large exhibition.  All the artwork comes here to the Saginaw Art Museum for an adjudication process; and the winners go from here to a statewide exhibition that his held in East Lansing, so their work progresses to a larger platform.”

“All artwork submitted by the students is on display, which is an important component of this exhibition,” she continues. “If you are a young artist it’s good to have your work displayed; and having it displayed at an art museum gives young artists confidence in their abilities. Plus, people from throughout the region and beyond can witness all the talent that we have in this area.  It’s amazing how varied the work it. Last year we even had three or four sculptures submitted, besides oil paintings, pastels and watercolors.”

Thematically, the exhibition is open to all artistic ideas and each teacher is only allowed to bring five pieces from each of their classes, so all the work goes through a process of judging and assessment and represents the finest work from each class.  The work represented exemplifies the divergent range of both media and talent generated by young artists from our local schools. Indeed, prior student entries in this competition have had pieces shown in the Grand Rapids Museum at ArtPrize.

“There is always some great work featured here and I highly encourage people to come and experience the high caliber of talent offered firsthand,” concludes Sarah.

The MAEA Region 11 Student Exhibition will be on view at the Saginaw Art Museum through February 24. Museum hours are Tuesday – Saturday, 12pm-5pm, open additional hours for special events and programs. Please call 989-754-2491 or visit www.saginawartmuseum.org for more information. 

Call for Artists Wishing to be Part of Saginaw’s 2018 Art & About Exhibit 

Artists have a unique opportunity to submit concepts to be part of the 2018 Art & About Exhibit that will enhance the sight and sound of areas all around Riverfront Saginaw! Selected artists will also be eligible for cash prizes at the end of the exhibit. 

Last year The Art & About Committee commissioned a memorable collection of unique sculptures that were displayed throughout the Riverfront area; and this year the goal is to feature a dozen pianos that will be the canvases for 12 artists or art groups whose concepts are selected for the 2018 Art & About Painted Piano Project.

Submissions must include a typed entry form, written proposal with imagery sketched on the provided diagram and an original painting that represents the proposed imagery. Submissions must be in by 5 p.m. on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2018 at the Saginaw Art Museum (SAM) located at 1126 N. Michigan Avenue, Saginaw, Michigan 48602.

Entry forms will be available at the Andersen Enrichment Center, The Saginaw Art Museum, Gingerblue Gallery, The Gallery: Art for Saginaw, Community Foundation, Tri-Star Trust Bank and all three Covenant HealthCare gift shops.

Submitted artwork will be on display at The Saginaw Art Museum from February 16-28th for public viewing and voting. A final public viewing and voting session will take place at the SAM Cheeseburgers in Margaritaville fund-raiser held the evening of March 2, 2018 at the Horizons Conference Center in Saginaw.  Selected artists will be notified by March 9, 2018 and pianos will be distributed to the artists shortly thereafter. Pianos need to be completed by May 15, 2018. 

Following completion, the pianos will be located in areas throughout the Riverfront Saginaw area for the public to enjoy visually and sonically. A number of performance events are being planned throughout the summer. During the summer months, the public will be engaged to help select the top pianos resulting in cash prizes for the artists. 

Artists with specific questions may contact Art & About committee member (and art teacher), Lauren Collison at lauren.e.collison@gmail.com. For information regarding the 2018 Art & About Painted Piano Project, please visit the Art & About Facebook page. www.facebook.com/ArtandAboutSaginaw.