The Willie Price Lab School will showcase student art in its sixth annual art gallery from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. tomorrow.
The art gallery will be open to the faculty of the School of Education, the parents of previous, current and new Willie Price students and other partners to the preschool on the first floor of Kinard Hall.
Thirty pieces of art are available for on-site bidding. Eight of them are pieces that were created by the students at Willie Price with the help of art teacher Sarah Kathryn Dossett, owner of Studio Whimzy and 2018 Double Decker poster artist.
Each of the four classes at the preschool produced two 30-by-30-foot canvases with the help of Dossett. Each class painted a canvas of their class mascot along with a canvas of an iconic feature of the university or Oxford, such as the Lyceum or Double Decker buses.
“The pieces of art are really interesting and beautiful,” said Sarah Langley, director of the Willie Price Lab School.
Last year, the preschool hosted a silent auction on the Square of items that varied from artwork to gift packages for restaurants. After experiencing the success of the auction and art gallery last year, the school’s administration wanted to find a way to improve on both of them.
“This year we thought, ‘Why don’t we combine it and make it a part of our gallery?’” Langley said.
During last year’s auction, the school raised about $17,000. This year the goal is to raise at least $12,500 from the auction and $2,500 in donations on the day of the art gallery. All of the funds will directly benefit the children.
“We are already having a good turnout,” said Alyce Krouse, a senior program assistant.
The rest of this year’s art was created by artists from Mississippi and other parts of the region such as Bill Dunlap, Vicki Armstrong and Bradley Gordon.
The school started hosting this event after looking for ways to have special events for the students and their families throughout the academic year.
“Art is such a big part of our curriculum on a daily basis that we should really showcase and have an art gallery and honor all of the wonderful creativity that we see in our 3-year-old or 4-year-old students,” Langley said.
The event has become increasingly more popular and well-attended over the years.
“I think it’s a wonderful event because the children learn about different artists, and then they do artwork from what they’ve learned about the artists,” Krouse said. “I think that’s the greatest thing — what the children take away from it.”
Langley said she believes this event is a major part of the school’s mission, which is “to foster a love of learning at an early age by offering creative, hands-on learning experiences.”
“The reactions we get from our students and our parents and the pride that we see our students take when they see their artwork displayed and they hear feedback from their parents and friends… it’s all positive, and I think it puts a smile on everybody’s face,” Langley said.
Anyone can participate in the school’s new art auction. Bidding began at 9 a.m. on April 20 and will continue end at noon on April 24. The auction site can be found on the Willie Price Lab School’s Facebook page. The auction also allows you to view some of the students’ art that is up for sale.Willie Price Lab School is set to host its sixth annual art gallery
In addition to the ongoing auction, donations to the school can be made year-round on its UM Foundation site, which is linked in the descriptions of the auction items.
