State of the arts
PROJECT BOXES PROVIDE CREATIVE ENRICHMENT
The art boxes aim to keep students engaged and creative during this strange time. Since we are unable to safely offer in-person classes at the gallery, this is one way we can stay connected to our community.”
A little out-of-the-box thinking was all it took for the Batesville Area Arts Council to continue its mission of enriching the community through the arts while ensuring the safety of participants during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Health precautions led the Arts Council to cancel this year’s annual summer camp and
Artoberfest, an annual celebration started in 2016 that includes live music, art demonstrations, a sidewalk chalk-art contest and more.
When the summer camp was shuttered, the council began offering Summer Art
Boxes to ensure that youngsters had access to an arts education and a creative outlet.
“I am a big fan of subscription boxes, so I thought of translating our in-person art camp into a take-home art kit,” said Carly Dahl, executive director of BAAC. “The Summer Art
Box [program] was an overwhelming success.”
With kits available for kindergartners through second-graders and for thirdthrough sixth-graders, the Summer Art
Boxes provided supplies and instructions for five projects, as well as information about various artists and techniques. The council displayed some of the summer creations during the 2020 Kids Art Exhibition at the
BAAC Gallery on Main in August.
The 60 Summer Art Boxes sold out within two weeks, Dahl said. She added that the program expanded the reach of the BAAC’s summer programming, because only 24 children can participate in the art camp each year.
“The art boxes aim to keep students engaged and creative during this strange time,” Dahl said. “Since we are unable to safely offer in-person classes at the gallery,
CARLY DAHL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BATESVILLE AREA ARTS COUNCIL
this is one way we can stay connected to our community.”
This season, the council will offer Fall
Art Boxes for ages 5 through 11 and for ages 12 and older. The box for younger children includes supplies and step-by-step instructions for five fall-themed projects that teach kids about drawing, paper crafts and working with tissue paper. The boxes also include coloring pages and crayons.
The 12-plus boxes, which focus on brush techniques for ink and watercolor, include water colors, India ink, brushes, a brushlettering worksheet, project ideas and a small sketchbook. The 12-and-older boxes aim to inspire creativity by encouraging adolescents and young adults to experiment with various art mediums, Dahl said, adding that the kits for the older age group further expand the audience of BAAC, which had previously geared most of its youth classes toward children in elementary school.
Dahl said she hopes the Fall Art Boxes will provide an enjoyable learning experience for students who are grappling with the new approaches to education brought about by the health crisis.
“Since many children are having a different school experience this year, whether it is home-schooling, virtual learning or a combination of virtual and in-person [classes], we want them to have this art box to inspire creativity and provide a fun and exciting activity,” she said.
Another set of art boxes will be available this winter, she said, adding that the Winter Art Box will feature seasonal and holiday-themed projects, and the 12-plus version will include a bullet journal and creative ideas for making a 2021 planner.
The BAAC initially constructed 50 of each Fall Art Box and may create more kits if demand warrants them, Dahl said. The Fall Art Boxes are sponsored by Citizens Bank, and the Summer Art Boxes were sponsored by The John Herman Hickman Foundation.
The Fall Art Boxes cost $40 each. Free pickup is available at the BAAC Gallery on Main at 226 E. Main St. in Batesville, and shipping is available for an additional $8 per box.
To learn more about the program or to order an art box, visit the classes and workshops page of BAAC’s website, batesvilleareaarts