{"id":623233,"date":"2026-10-07T11:14:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T11:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/623233\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T11:14:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T11:14:10","slug":"nj-community-arts-programs-help-kids-with-creativity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/623233\/","title":{"rendered":"NJ community arts programs help kids with creativity"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Camden and Cherry Hill to Trenton and the Jersey Shore, what about life in New Jersey do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know.<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

Eight-year-old Sebastian Dean is participating in an exercise as part of an education program based on artist Shantell Martin\u2019s new exhibit at Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton, Mercer County.\n<\/p>\n

The activity involved drawing something inspired by a prompt chosen at random out of a jar. That drawing would then be combined with contributions from others who participated in the activity to create a large mural.\n<\/p>\n

The picture Sebastian is drawing includes a feature that is similar to a Droste effect<\/a>, where it shows a picture within itself. He said the smaller picture was supposed to be the Mona Lisa. He said he likes art \u201ca lot\u201d because it gives him a chance to make new things.\n <\/p>\n

His mother, Melissa Dean, said that it was important to nurture Sebastian\u2019s interest in art.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gets him doing something new at home,\u201d Dean said, adding that Sebastian also draws with his father. \u201cI think it provides that quiet, meditative time for him to just draw, whether it is drawing or coloring or doing clay art.\u201d
\n\"lineDrawings by 5-year-old Richard Van Pelt (left) and 8-year-old Sebastian Dean connected as part of an activity from which a mural was created with contributions from visitors to Grounds for Sculpture, related to their new exhibit featuring artist Shantell Martin. (P. Kenneth Burns\/WHYY)\n<\/p>\n

Tiffany Allen, director of education and engagement at Grounds for Sculpture, said parents are enthusiastic about their children having the outlet available to them each month.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThey love knowing that when they come that all the materials are there and that freedom to create is there,\u201d Allen said. \u201cThey don\u2019t have to bring anything, just themselves and they can just run with it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Studies have long cited the benefits that arts programs outside of the traditional classroom can have for children. A 2013 Australian study<\/a> found that students who participate in outside arts programs have higher school motivation, engagement in class, self-esteem and life satisfaction. Another study published in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences<\/a> suggested that initiatives to promote arts engagement in children may improve children\u2019s self-esteem.\n<\/p>\n

Allen said that the museum wants the community to know it is a resource for children.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe go to the schools, different back-to-school nights. We go to the art teacher conferences,\u201d she said. \u201cWe make sure that we stay connected so that they know that we are a place where you can come and that where art lives and that you\u2019re able to just immerse yourself in that.\u201d\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From Camden and Cherry Hill to Trenton and the Jersey Shore, what about life in New Jersey do…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":623234,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[442,498,499,500,306524,501,156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-623233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-creativity-sparks-success","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=623233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623233\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/623234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}