For the first time, artwork from students attending two Eastern Suffolk BOCES schools was featured in a public art gallery for a weekend-long exhibition.
“Art From the Heart: An Artistic Journey,” curated by teachers Loriann Christian and Kristina Testani, displayed the work of around 150 students from Sayville Elementary School and the Brookhaven Learning Center in North Bellport on Feb. 7 and 8 at the Bay Area Friends of the Fine Arts Gallery in Sayville.
Each wall of the gallery showcased artwork from different student projects made throughout the school year. One wall featured pieces inspired by more abstract artists, such as Vincent van Gogh, with works exploring positive and negative space, while another wall showed depictions of cardinals perched in a winter scene, among other works.
As each artist and their family gazed at their piece on display for the first time during the show, smiles and a sense of empowerment filled the air.
“It feels really great,” said Kristopher Lee, father of featured artist Kea Lee, who held back tears while looking at his daughter’s depiction of Toothless the Dragon from the film franchise “How to Train Your Dragon.”
Kea Lee was joined by her father and aunt Kim at the show, and for the Lee family, art has been a way for Kea, who is nonverbal, to express herself. Since creating her shiny depiction of Toothless the Dragon, the Lee family said “How to Train Your Dragon” has become a favorite at home.
“Art From the Heart” curators and BAFFA members Christian and Testani each spent countless hours guiding students in creating their art before installing the show themselves at the BAFFA Art Gallery.
Testani said that showcasing their students’ pieces in an actual art gallery, rather than inside a school, created excitement among the young artists and their families, and that many parents kept coming up to her and Christian to thank them for giving their children such a public outlet to express themselves.
Testani and Christian handed special certificates to each artist and took pictures alongside their work to commemorate the special weekend.
“Art From the Heart: An Artistic Journey” was the first art show featuring the work of these Eastern Suffolk BOCES students at a public gallery.
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