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Heather Groll 518-474-5987 | heather.groll@ogs.ny.gov
March 02, 2018
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NINTH ANNUAL STUDENT EXHIBIT FEATURES ART INSPIRED BY PLAZA ART COLLECTIONStudent Art From 15 Area School Districts on View at the Empire State Plaza |
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New York State Office of General Services Commissioner RoAnn M. Destito today announced the opening of the 2018 Empire State Plaza Art Collection Student Exhibition on the Empire State Plaza Concourse. Established in collaboration with the Capital Area Art Supervisors and New York State Art Teachers Association, more than 1,000 pieces of work created by students from 15 Capital Region school districts will be on view from March 3 through March 18.
“The Empire State Plaza Art Collection is one of our state’s most important treasures, and I am proud that we can use this wonderful resource to inspire students at an early age by introducing them to these great works of art,” Commissioner Destito said. “Each year, we observe National Youth Art Month by giving students the opportunity to showcase their art in a space shared by the works of such notable artists as Helen Frankenthaler, Robert Motherwell, Isamu Noguchi, Jackson Pollock, and David Smith. I commend the Capital Area Art Supervisors, and my curatorial team at OGS whose dedication and hard work make this exhibit a success each year.”
“This is the ninth year that Capital Area Art Supervisors, or CAAS, has collaborated with NYS OGS in conjunction with National Youth Art Month,” said Kate Wright, K-12 fine arts supervisor for the City School District of Albany and CAAS chair of the exhibit. “We are excited that students in kindergarten through grade 8 have been inspired by the pieces in the Empire State Plaza modern art collection. In creating their own pieces for this extraordinary exhibition, Capital Region students have learned about and connected with historically important art in our own community. It’s been a wonderful opportunity for everyone.”
The student exhibit is the result of a collaboration between the OGS Plaza Art Collection Office and the Capital Area Art Supervisors. Through special tours and educational resources, the program introduces the Plaza Art Collection into the curriculum of local elementary and middle schools where the students are invited to create their own works of art by interpreting the Plaza Art Collection.
The one-of-a-kind exhibition, held each year during National Youth Art Month, features works of art created by students in kindergarten through eighth grade. School districts represented include Albany, Berne-Knox-Westerlo, Bethlehem, Guilderland, Ichabod Crane, Mohonasen, Niskayuna, North Colonie, Schenectady, Scotia-Glenville, Shenendehowa, Mechanicville, East Greenbush, Rensselaer, and Ballston Spa.
There will be an opening reception honoring participating students at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 8 at the south end of the Empire State Plaza concourse, which is closest to the Madison Avenue entrance.
The Empire State Plaza Art Collection consists of 92 modern art paintings, sculptures, and tapestries that were purchased in the late 1960s to the early 1970s, including works by Alexander Calder, Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, Joan Mitchell, and Mark Rothko. In all, 82 artists who were working in New York at the time the collection was acquired are represented. The collection, selected by a commission appointed by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, was purchased with state funds during construction of the Empire State Plaza.
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