ARTHURDALE — Art projects by children and teens from Preston, Monongalia, Marion and Taylor counties were featured at an art exhibit Wednesday evening at Arthurdale Heritage Association (AHA).
Raquel DeLoach, children’s program director, said approximately 25 children ages 4–14 participated.
The exhibit is part of Crossroads: Change in Rural America, a traveling exhibit with the Smithsonian Institute. DeLoach said the exhibit will travel through West Virginia and is part of an exhibit that will be at AHA in January 2022.
She said the Crossroads exhibit focuses on land, community and identity.
“It’s about how children relate to rural America and how they respond to the changing dynamics of their communities,” DeLoach said.
“I am proud of the children who participated,” she said. “I wanted to have an art exhibit for them.”
DeLoach said the children answered questions about their projects. The questions and answers were displayed on the back of the self-portraits each young artist painted.
Each also created watercolor maps of Preston County and a rock for geocaching. Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure-hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden there.
“The theory is if children are active in learning how the land around them is changing they are going to be interested in their community,” she said. “It’s been an enlightening experience for both the children and me.”
Darlene Bolyard, director of AHA, said she was pleased with the exhibit.
“Raquel is doing a fabulous job with the kids,” she said. “She’s a blessing for Arthurdale.”
Several visitors to the exhibit also expressed their appreciation of the art.
“I think the art is fantastic,” Nancy Morgan said “I believe it shows an incredible sense of self and community. This is a national thing. I’m as proud as can be.”
“I love it,” Krissy Bauer said. “My daughter and I both take the art classes. I love it.”
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