GOAL Digital Academy is preparing to hold its first Student Art Show and Sale at its Delaware Learning Lab.
The event, which is being held Friday at 248 N. Washington St. in Delaware, will begin at 10 a.m. and last until 7 p.m. The community is invited to view or buy student artwork, which range in price from $5 to $20. All proceeds benefit the artists.
The event was created by a GOAL K-12 art teacher, Casey Clark, and behavioral therapist Amy Bings.
“We have a very large student base here at GOAL,” Clark said. “…many of those students have creative talents, including fine art skills such as painting, drawing and sculpting, all the way to the career tech skills with graphic design, typography and photography. Behavioral therapist Amy Bings and I wanted to create an event for the kids that could showcase their hard work to fellow students, faculty, and of course, our community.”
Clark said GOAL has seven learning labs across Central Ohio, and between 100 and 150 students turned in artwork for the show. She added the show will contain approximately 300 individual and collaborative art pieces from the 2018-2019 school year. The artists range in grade level from kindergarten to 12th.
Clark said she hopes students feel proud of their art and gain connections to the community.
“Our students come from all walks of life, so we hope that they receive recognition for their talents,” she said. “We want them to feel like they are a part of our community here at GOAL Digital Academy, because they play an integral role in all of our futures. We hope this event will help them feel pride and accomplishment, and in turn, know we are committed to their education and success.”
Bings said from her perspective as a behavioral therapist, she sees the art show as a benefit and opportunity for students.
“From a therapeutic perspective, the creative process is beneficial and even healing for students who experience a higher than average amount of life stress,” Bings said. “We want to instill a belief in our students that everyone can tap into their creativity, and everyone can create meaningful art.”
Bings said she hopes the event is a success and can become a tradition.
“Our plan is to make the GOAL Digital Academy Art Show an annual event,” she said. “We think the public will be very impressed with the variety and quality of our student pieces, and we hope that those who attend will consider purchasing artwork in support of individual students and of the GOAL art program.”
GOAL Digital Academy is an online public school with locations in Delaware, Cardington, Marion, Mt. Vernon, Mansfield, Newark and Galion. Students must live within 25 miles of one of the learning labs.
