Exhibit Features Work of At-risk Youth, Women with Special Needs

Program gives locals opportunity to create own art
n by Katie Niekerk

Lifestyles editor

Art has a way of allowing those who might not otherwise have a chance to speak out to be heard. Evidence of that is now at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center, where nearly 50 pieces of art are on display through Oct. 25. The work was created by student artists ranging in age from 14 to 18 from five alternative schools in south Santa Clara County, as well as a nonprofit center that works with immigrant women with special needs.

The exhibit, called Connecting with Creativity, is presented in partnership with Arts Council Silicon Valley’s ArtsConnect Program. ArtsConnect is a collaborative arts education program that annually brings professional artists to 1,500 at-risk youth, ages 13-18, within the Alternative Schools Department of the Santa Clara County Office of Education, as well as to children’s shelters, group homes and juvenile hall. The program is now expanding to serve special-needs populations such as the homeless, battered women, Alzheimer’s patients and persons with disabilities.

The goal of the program is to provide an opportunity for youth and adults with special needs to learn, explore and be inspired by their own self-expression through art, said Bruce W. Davis, executive director of Arts Council Silicon Valley.

“As an organization that serves all of Santa Clara County, we feel that the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center is a perfect partner to host this creative exhibition,” he said. “The Arts Council is very excited to be able to help local at-risk teens and immigrant women showcase their inspiring artwork with this community.”

The exhibit features student art projects from Advent Community Day School in San Martin, Blue Ridge High School in Morgan Hill, Learning and Loving Education Center in Morgan Hall, McKinnon Community School in San Jose and South County Community School in San Martin.

Mark Engel, a visual artist who worked with the South County Community School in San Martin, said being a part of the project was personally fulfilling as he saw the students grow and learn more about themselves.

“Working with the students at South County Community School was a rewarding experience,” he said. “I am always amazed at the transformation that happens when students that have a hardened exterior begin to soften up and experience their individual creative potential. The artwork always has a rawness about it that reflects a struggle between caring and not caring.  In the creative moments of an art project, both the students and I discover meaning in the task to make something together.”   

The artwork includes three large-scale acrylic murals centered on social and cultural themes, still-life canvas paintings and colorful Mexican inspired masks made from clay and plaster that have been painted with acrylic and decorated with feathers, beads and yarns. Other items include African Dogan masks made from paper and plaster painted with acrylic and decorated with feathers, beads and yarns; watercolor self-portraits with fabric and paper collage, aluminum foil sculptures, pen and water color drawings, butterfly sculptures made with wire and colorful candy papers mounted over printed color photographs, and intricate mandala paintings on cardstock.

Exploring art is an opportunity that gives children and adults a chance to know themselves more fully, said Sarah Baldik, a visual artist who worked with the Learning and Loving Education Center in Morgan Hill.

“The ArtsConnect Program is so wonderful. It gives these schools and programs an opportunity to express themselves they may never have had,” she said. “It is so important to the kids and young adults to explore and show the artistic side of themselves. I’m so fortunate and thankful to be a part of this program.”