Imagemakers Features Works by Students of Boys & Girls Clubs

Students of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County exhibit works in photography and sculpture.


By polly burks | 3/1/2016

The University Galleries in Florida Atlantic University’s Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters will collaborate with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County to present “ImageMakers,” its national photography competition, as well as student artwork from the University Galleries’ outreach program called Artist Mentorship Program (AMP). The combined exhibition will open with a reception on Friday, March 11 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Ritter Art Gallery, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus. The exhibition will run through Tuesday, March 15 and is free and open to the public. 

 “ImageMakers” will feature photography by children from the 13 Boys & Girls Clubs in Palm Beach County, the county’s largest not-for-profit youth development organization. The children, ages 6 to18, learn photography skills and take photographs during scheduled club field trips within the community. “ImageMakers” is part of the organization’s participation in a national photography competition and is coordinated by Dennis Young, director of computer education for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County.

The exhibition also will showcase artwork made by students in the Artist Mentorship Program (AMP), the outreach art program of the University Galleries. Since its inception, the University Galleries’ Museum Education Program has collaborated with and provided art education services to children in after-school settings. Undergraduate FAU students are hired each semester to teach visual arts classes in several regional locations. Currently, classes are taught at the Marjorie Fisher Boys and Girls Club in West Palm Beach and the Naoma Donnelley Haggin Boys and Girls Club in Delray Beach. A generous grant from the Community Foundation has allowed AMP to expand to a third site, the Children’s Home Society in West Palm Beach.

AMP promotes young people’s creativity while encouraging artistic skills and cultural enrichment. The students visit University Galleries and the FAU campus several times throughout the semester to expose them to contemporary art and college life. AMP is coordinated by Jill Lavetsky, FAU MFA graduate and teaching artist.

The Museum Education Program at the University Galleries is made possible in part by the Barry and Carol Kaye Endowment for Arts Integration and the Community Foundation of Palm Beach and Martin Counties.

Exhibitions in the University Galleries are free and open to the public Tuesdays through Fridays from 1 to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m. Classes and groups are welcome during public hours or by appointment. For more information, call 561-297-2661 or visit www.fau.edu/galleries

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