Student artists from I.S. 77 in Ridgewood will have their work displayed during the Learning through an Expanded Arts Program’s (LEAP) 15th Annual Student Art Exhibition later this week.
The exhibition will feature works by students in kindergarten through eighth grade from schools in Queens, Brooklyn, The Bronx and Manhattan who participated in LEAP’s Afterschool Program, LEAP’s Public Art Program and LEAP’s Active Learning Leads to Literacy Program.
“We are so proud of our students as they have embraced academic material through engaging in arts-based strategies, and have produced such beautiful and powerful works of art,” said Rich Souto, LEAP executive director.
The exhibition will kick off with an opening reception on Friday, Feb. 17, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Citigroup Building Atrium, located at One Court Square in Long Island City. The full exhibition runs through March and is open to the public.
Participating students explored a wide range of artistic styles and techniques to make their art for this show, all while learning core academic subjects. Students created African-inspired artworks, issue-based murals and photo portraits of loved ones, as well as Modigliani-inspired drawings, 3D birds and multicultural masks with a contemporary spin.
In addition to the students at I.S. 77, students from Teller Avenue Educational Campus, 228X Jonas Bronck Academy and 219X New Venture Academy in The Bronx; 51K William Alexander School and 88K Peter Rouget School in Brooklyn; and 165M Robert E. Simon School in Manhattan will have their artwork on display during the exhibition.
LEAP is a nonprofit organization founded in 1977 that works to improve the quality of education for public school students through an art-based approach to teaching the core curriculum. LEAP has provided music, dance, theater, film and visual arts programs to over 2 million students in pre-K through 12th grade, empowering them to reach their full potential.
