Palmer exhibits the work of young Picassos

Gülfem Demiray Assistant Arts Editor

The portrait of a pink tree and your little brother may have been much beloved by your mom, but chances are few that others appreciated your early art. The James Palmer Gallery’s 23rd annual John Iyoya Children’s Art Show, A Celebration of Children’s Art, remedies this trend by featuring the artwork of Poughkeepsie’s youngest artists, ages kindergarten through sixth grade. The show runs through Saturday, April 5.

“The Vassar exhibit offers children the opportunity to be recognized as artists by their peers, the college community and the public,” Yvonne Alexander, an art teacher at Traver Road Primary School in Pleasant Valley, told College Relations. “It gives value to children’s art in a world where children are often undervalued, and it helps to motivate children to consider the arts as a possible career choice,” she said.

The show proves that young children are capable of producing original and fascinating works of art. It lets the Vassar and Poughkeepsie communities appreciate work slightly remeniscent of Picasso’s, yet from a quite different background.

The exhibit is named in memory of the former Vassar student John Iyoya, who was studying to become an educator but passed away shortly after graduating. Iyoya’s friends and family established the show to honor his exemplary creativity and love of young children.

Sponsored by the education department, the exhibit features more than 300 pieces of student artwork from nine Poughkeepsie area schools, including Wimpfheimer Nursery School.

Assistant Professor of Education Erin McCloskey, Visiting Instructor of Education Linda Cantor and Administrative Assistant Jessica Leonard organized the show to celebrate children, their art and their art teachers. The participating elementary school art teachers selected themes to guide their students, chose the artworks to be displayed and hung the show themselves.

It is crucial to encourage children’s interest in the visual arts, McCloskey said, since children use art for purely expressive reasons. “Unfortunately,” she said, “it doesn’t receive the recognition it’s due.”

The National Association for the Education of Young Children underlines the central role of art in the education of young children by asserting that art activities foster children’s development by enhancing perception, fine motor skills, language and social interaction, as well as creating meaning in their lives. Encouraging children to make art lets them communicate by opening their eyes and minds.

McCloskey also remarked that the exhibit encourages its viewers to appreciate just how instrumental art teachers are in the artistic development of their students. “I am so impressed with the dedication of the art teachers that are exhibiting their students’ work and the quality of work that they inspire their students to create,” she said.

Demonstrating young children’s interest in the visual arts, the exhibit will be on display in conjunction with Vassar’s 28th annual I Won’t Grow Up Day on April 5. The Vassar student group Together Opposing Neglect and Child Abuse (TONCA) run the event, and its donations will benefit the Poughkeepsie Child Abuse Prevention Center.

The exhibit “is an incredible display of the creativity teachers can inspire,” McCloskey said. “People just smile when they walk by the gallery. How could you not? There is so much talent, and there are so many incredible pieces of art.”