On Jan. 31, the ISLA Center for the Arts, opened its doors to excited children and families for the 21st Annual ISLA Art-A-Thon Exhibition.
Out of the 957 student-made artworks submitted to the Art-A-Thon, the exhibition showcased 66 pieces created using a variety of mediums, such as, crayons, colored pencils, acrylic, watercolor, and more.
This year was the first time, ISLA implemented a theme for students to follow, which was “Pås Familia” or Family Peace. The purpose was to showcase how elementary to high school students interpreted their version of family peace.
Trinity Feliciano, a Senior majoring in Fine Arts and Philosophy, is a work-study at the ISLA Center for the Arts and contributed to different aspects of the Art-A-Thon. From verifying the number of participants and their prizes from each school, to setting up the gallery, and making certificates.
She and others who volunteer at ISLA, curated the pieces involving the elementary, middle, and high school divisions. From there, first, second, and third place winners were chosen for each division.
“The first thing we looked for, was how well the artwork fit the theme. After we established that, we kept in mind technique, creativity, completeness,” Feliciano explained.
This year’s ISLA Art-A-Thon, raised $34,485, forty percent of which goes back to the participating schools, to buy art related supplies. Another forty percent goes to running the ISLA Center for the Arts, and the remaining twenty percent goes to purchasing prizes for the students who participated.
Velma Yamashita, Ph. D., is an assistant professor of art and the current coordinator of the ISLA Center for the Arts.
She hopes that future submissions into the ISLA Art-A-Thon will include a larger variety of media, such as 3D, photography, and digital illustrations.
“In a way it also reflects the types of curriculum that are implemented into schools,” Yamashita said.
The next exhibit that will be showcased at ISLA, features the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Annual Research Conference, and it will run through March 8 to 15.
