Parents Step Up and Help Bowie Students Bring Art Back to the Schools

Student artwork transformed into a museum Thursday night.

Hundreds of mobiles hung from ceiling tiles, and drawings of Egyptian Hieroglyphics, paintings of native Australian animals and “Fantasy Art” collages covered the walls.

The hour and a half display, accompanied by cookies and punch, was sponsored by the PTA’s Art Awareness. The program began 17 years ago when parents, aided by the Baltimore Museum of Art, saw the lack of art in the school without a teacher and decided to do something.

“PTA moms wanted to give their children a chance to explore their creative side,” said Kim Allegrezza, chair of Art Awareness.  “Not all children are made for math and science. Some are made to paint and sing.”

The program involves 27 parent volunteers, some without teaching or artistic experience, to lead students in four projects a year.  This year’s lessons focused on James Christensen’s “Fantasy Art,” Egyptian tomb art, Aboriginal dreamtime painting and Alexander Calder’s mobiles.

“The students absolutely love it,” Allegrezza said. “Kids will see me in the grocery store and say, ‘Mom, it’s the art lady’ and give me a big hug.”

Parent Julie Craig echoed Allegrezza’s experiences.

“My child is always excited when she has art day,” Craig said.

Parent Rochelle Larkin-Ford said she appreciates the diversity Art Awareness adds to her child’s education.

“It’s exciting that they are learning different styles of art,” Larkin-Ford said. “They are giving the students a greater appreciation of different cultures.”

Craig added that, through the program, the school is doing a good job being budget-friendly in these tough economic times.

The school currently has a part-time art teacher, but the committee is aware that it’s not a guaranteed position.

The art teacher is a “wonderful gift at the moment, but we don’t want to count on the county,” Allegrezza said. Art Awareness is “a program the school is not going to let die,” she added.