2011 Summer Art Class Exhibition

Everyone is invited to an exhibition of student artwork and a free ice cream social this Saturday, July 9, 2011 from 6:30 – 8:00 PM. The event will take place at Chinati, in the Arena.

Over the past three weeks, sixty students from pre-school through grade 8 have taken part in Chinati’s Summer Art Class, with daily activities encouraging students to take a closer look at the landscape and town they live in. Students explored the museum’s buildings and grounds at the former Ft. D.A. Russell and walked around the surrounding neighborhood, taking note of different views of Marfa and sketching their observations. Bugs, rocks, grasses and other found objects were collected, with volunteers from the local chapter of Texas Master Naturalists assisting in plant and grass identification. Visits to exhibition spaces inspired conversations about indoor and outdoor space, shelter, light, climate, and how all of these elements affect our senses. Students wrote plays based on their explorations and performed them for family and friends at weekly picnics on the last day of class.

Over the three-week period a larger, collaborative project was erected on the museum grounds, with each student helping to create a large, three-dimensional map of Marfa, installed on the floor of the Arena. After three weeks of work it includes cardboard models of many local businesses and landmarks including the Presidio County Courthouse, Dairy Queen, Pueblo Market, The Paisano Hotel and the Marfa Book Company. This project will be on display during the Saturday evening event. Please join Chinati in celebrating the work of these amazing and enthusiastic student artists!

Thank you to the many local businesses and individuals who generously contributed to make this annual program possible. Chinati’s Summer Art Program is supported by Hamman Foundation, Elke Hoppe Youth Advancement Trust, Carl B. & Florence E. King Foundation, Permian Basin Area Foundation, Texas Commission on the Arts, Trull Foundation, and Union Pacific.