The creativity of more than 800 students will be on display this weekend during Seymour Community Schools’ annual Celebration of the Arts.
This year marks the 30th anniversary for the art show, which also features entries from students at Immanuel Lutheran, St. Ambrose Catholic and Trinity Lutheran schools. The work of students from kindergarten through 12th grade will be on display.
Some pieces will be auctioned off to raise money for the schools’ art programs.
The event will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday at Shops at Seymour, Suite 315, 357 Tanger Blvd. Also Sunday, the local Tri Kappa sorority will host a reception for student artists and their families.
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To celebrate three decades of the art show, organizers have planned a bigger and more involved event combining visual artwork with performing arts.
The schools are working with Southern Indiana Center for the Arts and the Greater Seymour Chamber of Commerce to attract more people to the event.
Artists from around the state and region have been invited to set up at the show to demonstrate their craft and sell their artwork. Area college art programs, museums and the T.C. Steele State Historic Site in Brown County will have booths set up to provide information and displays of art.
A variety of media will be represented, such as oil, acrylic and watercolor painting, drawing, sculpture and modeling, pottery, glass, metal and woodwork, graphic art, photography and textiles.
“This celebration is designed to be a community event that showcases the talents of students in area schools as well as other artists within our community and state,” said Mariella Wehmiller, who teaches art classes at Seymour-Redding and Margaret R. Brown elementary schools. “Our goal is for the community to be able to see and create art in as many different ways as possible.”
Besides art displays, there will be activities for the public to enjoy, she said.
Local bands and musicians and vocal and instrumental ensembles from the schools will perform throughout the afternoon. Art students will dress as famous artists to mingle with the crowd, Wehmiller said.
Food vendors will be present for people to purchase lunch.
One of the highlights of the Celebration of Arts will be a community art project, which will be created at the event.
“All visitors will be able to add their brushstrokes to a canvas,” Wehmiller said. “We will be working with the Seymour Recycling Center for materials.”
There will be sidewalk chalk art, free face painting and a silent art auction to raise money for art programs in the schools. Artwork for the auction will be provided by participating schools.
“It is important to celebrate art in our schools and our community because art is a very valuable part of our everyday lives,” Wehmiller said. “Art promotes critical thinking and problem-solving. Art is a way of expressing our ideas, thoughts and feelings. Art develops our imagination. Art helps us to enjoy the beauty in everything. Through art, we can discover and explore the past, the present and the future.”
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What: Celebration of the Arts
When: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday
Where: Shops at Seymour, 357 Tanger Blvd., Suite 315
Cost: Free
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