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Image credit: Drawing by Jazlyn Santos, 2nd Grade, from the 2009 exhibit; courtesy Vassar College Media Relations |
The Annual John Iyoya Children’s Art Show
This month marks the 25th anniversary of the annual John Iyoya Children’s Art Show at the Palmer Gallery. Titled “A Celebration of Art,” the always-popular exhibit will feature works by local students in nursery school through sixth grade. This year’s exhibit will include over 200 works of art by students from a number of schools in the region, including Vassar’s own Wimpfheimer Nursery School. The show honors the memory of John Iyoya, a Vassar education student who passed away shortly before graduating. His friends and family remember his love of young children and his creativity.
Sponsored by Vassar’s Department of Education in cooperation with the Office of Campus Activities, the exhibit offers children the chance to be recognized as artists with their own points of view and the desire to express themselves. The show also highlights the positive difference art teachers can make in the lives of their students; they can encourage students to take pride in their work, as well as inspire a lifelong interest in art. The student-artists participate in the planning of the Palmer Gallery show by selecting the pieces they want to display and their arrangement in the exhibit space. The John Iyoya Children’s Art Show will open with a public reception on March 21 beginning at 2:00 p.m. The exhibit will remain on display until March 27.