By Joseph L. Campos
By Joseph L. Campos
The 41st Annual Elementary Art Show kicks off this week with entries from a plethora of extremely talented young artists from various SoCal schools. The children are stationed in categories from kindergarten all of the way up to the sixth grade. The artistic pieces will be hung up in the Buena Park City Hall for all of the local community to see and enjoy. This year’s theme is titled, “Yes I can!”
“We put a big list of themes together,” explains Maya Mackrandilal, who is the City of Buena Park’s Fine Arts Coordinator. “We weaved it down and liked this one the most. It is very positive and is a highlighted theme that we feel that the children, parents, and art viewers will enjoy.”
The theme of this year’s art show is tied into the children’s most defining moments of how they accomplished a major goal in their young lives. From hitting the winning three-pointer in a basketball game, to saving money to buy Grandma that one special Christmas gift, all and any accomplishments that hold a dear and sentimental value in the heart of these children are to be captured with their art. “This is the first time that we have used this type of theme for our art show,” says Mackrandilal. “We have never explored this type of possibility before. It’s really very sweet.”
150 children have already signed on to participate and over 153 art pieces have been submitted for the show. School districts like Buena Park and Savanna’s are two of several that are expected to make an appearance in this year’s event. “There are a lot of similarities between the work of the high school children’s art pieces that we displayed earlier this year and the styles of art pieces that the younger elementary aged children have submitted,” explains Mackrandilal. “The focus of the older children’s work is focused on their family and friends. They have a much different expectation on what techniques that they can use to create these works. High schoolers understand what they are supposed to do. They approach things in a sort of more developed way. The younger children on the other hand are more playful and spontaneous. They think deeply and like to view all of the choices and possibilities of what they can do with their art work.”
When asked what particular piece was her favorite, Mackrandilal mentioned the following, “I like the one titled, ‘I Can Hold Two Kittens on my Hand,’ it is so whimsical, it makes you smile, the beauty of it catches you by surprise and is really adorable. It is amazing with what these students come up with.”
The Buena Park Elementary Art Show is opened to all styles of art. The show displays marker work, acrylic, mixed media, crayon drawings, and much more. “We are open to all that they have to share and give,” states Mackrandilal.
City Council Members and Cultural and Fine Arts Commissioners will be on hand to critique the work and to hand out prizes to the participants and award winning students with an awards ceremony on March 31st within the Buena Park City Hall. All participants will receive a prize bag for their participation and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will be given certificates, medals, and pins.
“All children are completely welcome to participate,” says Mackrandilal. “We are here to value, and honor their art work. It is a joy to see. We want all children to put up the highlights of their life within our art show. We encourage all children and parents to come out and to just try it.” If local citizens still want to participate in this exciting event, they can show up on March 31st at Buena Park City Hall’s Council Chamber at 6650 Beach Blvd. in Buena Park.
