Three USD 490 elementary students have had their artwork selected to represent each of our elementary schools in the Kansas Youth Art Month Exhibit at the Topeka Shawnee County Library from Feb. 25 through Mar. 29, 2025.
Eliana Thatch is representing Blackmore, Katharine Andrews is representing Grandview, and Trinity Shelefontiuk is representing Skelly. Only one student per school is allowed to be showcased in the exhibit, which includes a “people’s choice” competition to select a first, second, third place, and honorable mention for elementary, middle, and high school entries. Visitors to the art exhibit vote on their favorite to determine these awards. The winners will be announced during a special reception at the library on Mar. 29, 2025.
The Topeka Shawnee County Library is located at 1515 SW 10th Ave., Topeka, KS and the hours are as follows: Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.; Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.; and Sunday 12:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Only thirty out of the over 300 entries are selected to be featured daily during the exhibit on the Kansas Art Education Association (KAEA) and Kansas Art Teachers social media pages. Katharine Andrews’ artwork was selected to be featured on Tuesday, Mar. 4, 2025.
Andrew's artwork was also one of only 20 pieces selected from the state (K-12) to be included on the Kansas Youth Art Month panel at the National Art Education Association convention in Louisville, KY, Mar. 20-22, 2025.
Youth Art Month is celebrated across the nation in March. The Art & Creative Materials Institute (ACMI) created Children’s Art Month in 1961 as an event to emphasize the value to children from participating in visual art education. In 1969 the celebration expanded to include secondary school students and became known as Youth Art Month. In 1984, ACMI created the non-profit organization The Council for Art Education (CFAE) to advocate for visual art education. They now coordinate the Youth Art Month program at the national level.
Eliana's artwork.
Katharine's artwork.
Trinity's artwork.