Kyrene District student work displayed at Chandler Center for Arts

Kyrene School District middle-schoolers on campuses in Chandler worked with artists-in-residence this semester, thanks to a program created and funded by the City of Chandler Arts Commission.

In late 2023, the Chandler Arts Commission selected five professional educator artists to work with students throughout the city. Three out of the five artists were selected to work with Kyrene arts teachers.

“It was so exciting that the City of Chandler and the Arts Commission have teamed up to offer this opportunity to the students and our teachers,” Kyrene Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator Julie Hackmann said.

Students at Kyrene Aprende Middle School, Kyrene del Pueblo Middle School and Kyrene Traditional Academy were each joined by an artist for six- to eight-week residencies in early 2024.

Artists spent most of their day on campus, assisting each Kyrene arts teacher with student projects.

Aprende art teacher Shoshana Vayner was joined by artist Eli Richard McGlothern, who worked with students to create expressive self-portraits that represented two aspects of their personality utilizing color, positive and negative space, and song lyrics.

Kyrene Traditional Academy art teacher Kenosha Drucker worked with artist Estevan Curiel to paint a mural on campus in addition to individual projects where students used various materials to create stylized works centered around their names.

Olivia Yuen, an art teacher at Kyrene del Pueblo Middle School, worked alongside artist Shari Keith who helped students explore the art of abstract assemblage using discarded materials and encouraged them to express their own artistic voices.

“Our deepest appreciation goes to the Chandler Arts Commission board chair Michelle Hirsch for championing Kyrene in this great experience for Kyrene kids,” Hackmann said.

Student artwork was displayed at the Chandler Center for the Arts in April, allowing students and their families to see their hard work in a professional gallery setting.

We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this topic.  Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org .