2014 State Youth Art Exhibit with AS220 at the Atrium Galley

Rhode Island State Council on the Arts presents the "2014 State Youth Art Exhibit, AS220 Youth" at the Atrium Gallery at One Capitol Hill. This exhibit is part of the New Visions New Curators Program.

AS220 Youth is a free arts education program in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, serving young people 14-21 with a special focus on those in the care and custody of the state. The goal is to create opportunities for youth through the creative process, education, and career development. The show includes the work of more than 50 young artists from around Rhode Island.

Through their art AS220 Youth students have collectively created a portrait of the state of Rhode Island. Through artistic mediums as simple as graphite pencil, to images made with computer imaging software the students have learned over time to master technical achievement and give voice to their own lives. "United," one of the AS220 Youth Hip Hop groups, has written and performed a song about bullying while their counterparts choreograph their own dances. Young photographers have pushed the boundaries of digital photography with fabulous light drawings while others have enlarged traditional black and white photographs documenting their own experience.

Elena Calderon Patino, Director of the Community Arts Program at RISCA, applauded the collaboration with AS220 Youth. "The Youth Art Exhibit has been part of the RISCA's "New Visions/New Curator Series" for the past 3 years," said Patino. "The students conceptualize the theme, create the artwork, the brochure, and hang the show themselves, AS220 Youth Studio does a fantastic job, it is everything we hoped the "New Visions/New Curator Series" to be and more."

"For the last three years the AS220 Youth program has been thrilled with the opportunity to showcase the work of all our students to the RI public at the Atrium Gallery," said Scott Lapham, AS220 Youth Photo Coordinator. "We invite everyone to help celebrate with our artists, we would love to see you at the reception and show."

AS220 Youth
AS220 Youth has three teaching sites: our downtown Providence studio, UCAP middle school, and the Rhode Island Training School, the State's juvenile detention facility. The work in the exhibit was produced by youth at the three sites, through independent and collaborative projects. In 2012, AS220 Youth received the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award and was recognized by First Lady Michelle Obama for using engagement in the arts and to increase academic achievement, graduation rates, and college enrollment, as well as improve literacy and language abilities, communication and performance skills, and cultural awareness.

Atrium Gallery at One Capitol Hill
Rhode Island State Council on the Arts developed the Atrium Gallery to recognize artists from communities throughout the state. The Atrium Gallery hosts multidisciplinary exhibitions in partnership with diverse artists and cultural organizations. The Gallery features a stunning tall glass ceiling with light that cascades into an open space surrounded by three walls of artwork. This has become a destination point for visitors and the many people who frequent the administration offices at One Capitol Hill, while enriching the environment for hundreds of state workers in the building.

State Youth Art Exhibit
The Youth Art Exhibition showcases the work of young artists in the state of Rhode Island in partnership with afterschool programs like AS220 Youth, Riverzedge, RISD Project Open Door, and New Urban Arts with outstanding results. Since 2011, students have participated in the New Visions/New Curators Program where they conceptualize the theme of the exhibit, create the artwork and marketing materials, organize performances for the reception, and proudly put their creations on display.

New Visions/New Curators Program
The Atrium Gallery encourages the development of new curators and gallery directors from diverse communities through the New Visions/New Curators Program. Artists of color are provided logistical support to curate a show by defining a theme, professionally installing the artwork, and creating marketing materials that promote the exhibit. Previous participants have curated exhibitions in local and regional galleries and museums. This highly successful program has become an incubator for new curators that promote viewpoints and voices of artists of color.

The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts is a state agency supported by appropriations from the Rhode Island General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. RISCA provides grants, technical assistance and staff support to arts organizations and artists, schools, community centers, social service organizations and local governments to bring the arts into the lives of Rhode Islanders. To learn more visit www.arts.ri.gov