The Pineridge Elementary School gymnasium buzzed with the excited chatter of parents and students Thursday, June 8 as the school hosted the after school programs’ district art show.
The program brings local artists to the students to teach them about different types of art. The show gave the students an opportunity to show off their creations to family and friends and explained what they had made.
The program has been running for over five years. Christine Franes, district principle for learning services in Prince Rupert, said the program is run in all of the city’s elementary schools and its middle school, and there are currently about 60 students participating.
“Kid’s art is so inspiring because it’s free of inhibition,” said Lynn Cociani, one of the three artists who instructs in the after-school program. “The program enables kids who wouldn’t be able to access this stuff to do this. It opens up the world of art to all kids.”
Cociani, along with artists Nakkita Trimble and Tara Dias, travel to the each of the districts elementary schools and its middle schools, each teaching a different discipline to the students. Cociani teaches portraiture, abstract art and art history, Trimble teaches aboriginal art and Dias teach print-making and mixed media.
“I realy like it when kids discover talents they didn’t know they had or a new medium that they didn’t know existed,” Cociani said.
Nine-year-old Brianna Kinney is a Pineridge student who said she enjoyed the mixed media form. It’s her first year in the program and she said she enjoyed learning about art while being able to “talk with my friends while doing projects.”