Public School Artists Show & Sell

Maeve Canalori was quietly excited to see her ​“Thailand Elephants” on display. When the delicate work, fashioned out of bleeding tissue paper and marker, sold almost immediately, the precocious pre‑K artist made $30.

Not bad for a 4‑year-old at her first group show. Her excitement did not diminish just because the buyer was Maeve’s mom.

That transaction was one of many taking place at ​“Creative Minds — The Art of New Haven Youth,” the annual exhibition by students in the public schools’ visual arts classes from pre‑K through high school.

Maeve’s work was one of about 200 creations that filled the first floor and basement of Arte, Inc., the Latino-focussed gallery at Grand and Front Streets in Fair Haven.

More than 100 kids and their proud parents, teachers, Board of Ed administrative staffers, and other admirers filled the gallery space the other day for the grand opening of the exhibition. 

You can view the show — and purchase the works — through May 31 during gallery hours, which are Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., or by appointment by calling 203 – 946-8687.

This is the second year that the show, previously displayed at Board of Ed headquarters, has been at Arte. The shift by all accounts has been a great hit.

Board of Ed Member Carlos Torre said a practical reason the show was moved from the board’s Meadow Street headquarters is that the board, which previously had convened its regular meetings there, is now rotating among the city’s various schools.

Those attending the meetings used to catch the show there, but now they journey to Fair Haven.

The show’s chief organizer and the school system’s visual arts facilitator, Lisa Davis-Rucinsky, said she expects between 600 to about 1,000 people to drop by during the show’s run.

She also offered a more compelling reason for the move: ​“I wanted to inspire in the students that their work is of value. It’s important that they be recognized as artists,” she said.

That’s being accomplished not only because the works — mostly two-dimensional paintings and drawings, but also some sculpture and ceramics — are on display at a professional gallery; the works, with just a few exceptions, are also for sale.

As visitors milled about congratulating each other, sipping lemonade, and nibbling on brownies, the colorful works were going, well, if not like hot cakes, then like hot student art, and at fabulous prices.

Davis-Rucinsky has set the non-negotiable prices at $30 for art works by pre‑K kids through third grade; $40 for fourth to eighth graders; and $60 per work by all the high school artists.

All the money goes directly back to the child artists, said Davis-Rucinsky.

She further makes the occasion a kind of teachable, professionalizing moment by sending a formal letter to each kid who sells a work of art. The letter, accompanied by the cash, goes to the student, if they’re old enough, or to the parent.

“They sold a lot of art last year,” she added, meaning 30 pieces out of about 200 displayed.

Of those 30, 10 pieces were bought by parents of the kids and 20 by others, such as Board of Ed Communications Director Abbe Smith (pictured), who this year picked out a tangerine-colored, elongated tiger, created by a second-grader Johanna Lopez, to display in her office.

By measure of the many red dots, checks, and cash that she was clutching, Davis-Rucinsky appeared to be on a pace to sell even more this year.

Secret Artists Revealed

For some parents, the show was a revelation about the talents of their kids. ​“I did not know she could do this,” Christine Soto (pictured) said when she beheld her daughter Julinet DeJesus’s ​“Flower in the Style of Georgia O’Keefe.”

She immediately took out her checkbook and bought her daughter’s watercolor. The multi-talented child could not attend because she was performing in a dance recital at her Davis Street Arts and Academics School. ​“I told her I had to come here. I’m very proud of her. I am going to frame it and wrap it and have her unwrap it as a surprise,” Soto said.

And the $30 that the pre‑K student will soon be receiving? She can buy absolutely anything she wants with it, said Soto.

Davis-Rucinsky curated the floor-to-ceiling-hung exhibition based on selections made by the approximately 100 visual art teachers in the school system. Each teacher was asked to select two works to contribute to the show. The teachers only have 30 to 45 minutes a week with students from kindergarten to eighth grade and an hour to an hour-and-a-half for high school students.

“It’s a challenging career,” she added.

Schools Superintendent Garth Harries hailed those art teachers and their students. ​“This room has super powers in art,” he said.