ALLENTOWN, Pa.- The future of our communities starts with the children we inspire today, and at Arts Academy Elementary Charter School in Allentown, students are learning that art can connect people, cultures, and generations.<\/p>\n
Through a special artistic exchange with students in Vieques, Puerto Rico, children are using drawings, colors, and creativity to share their worlds with each other.<\/p>\n
The project was made possible after Daniel Djuro, the school\u2019s Director of Arts Integration, was selected to participate in an artist residency in Vieques called Bio Lumina.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s run by an artist called Marco Caridad, who actually came last year to do an art residency in Allentown,\u201d Djuro explained. \u201cHe interacted with our community, and we decided this year to have an impact in his community.\u201d<\/p>\n
The exchange gives students the chance to learn about each other\u2019s homes through art. Kindergarten students at Arts Academy created posters featuring native animals from Pennsylvania, hoping to teach students in Puerto Rico about wildlife from their region.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re expecting something too,\u201d said kindergarten teacher Ailenni Melo. \u201cThey don\u2019t know which animals they see over there, and they are very excited about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the young artists, the project became an opportunity to be creative and share what they know.<\/p>\n
One student, Josiah, proudly explained how quickly he completed his artwork.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor 20 minutes,\u201d he said when asked how long it took him to finish his drawing.<\/p>\n
Students from different grade levels also participated by illustrating and writing about animals native to Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
Third-grade student Genesis shared what she learned about the bobcat through her project.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bobcat lives in the forest. It is larger than a house cat,\u201d she read.<\/p>\n
Her classmate, Emma, created a drawing of a barn owl and explained the story behind her artwork.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an owl that sometimes lives in barns. It eats rats and mice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She even added a creative detail to her drawing, explaining how a farmer used cheese to attract mice in her story.<\/p>\n
The excitement reached beyond students. Teachers also joined the exchange by creating artwork for educators in Vieques.<\/p>\n
Third-grade teacher Sariann Knerr painted a pileated woodpecker for a teacher she has never met.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is for the teacher in Puerto Rico. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a man or a woman,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
As students in Allentown wait to receive artwork from their new friends in Puerto Rico, the experience continues to build curiosity and connection.<\/p>\n
Djuro says the true power of art comes from allowing students to express themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the reason why I\u2019m so passionate about working with students in art is that it reminds us that the real artist always taps into a childlike mind,\u201d he said. \u201cTo see them pushing themselves, finding ways to communicate, and taking pride in the little things they\u2019re doing, it just fills my whole cup of my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through this exchange, students are discovering that even though they may live thousands of miles apart, art can bring them closer together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ALLENTOWN, Pa.- The future of our communities starts with the children we inspire today, and at Arts Academy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":777700,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[78864,331498,331495,331499,228,226,227,331500,331497,229,72131,88,5898,331496,331501],"class_list":["post-777699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-allentown","tag-animal-drawings","tag-art-exchange","tag-art-residency","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-creative-education","tag-cultural-connection","tag-design","tag-elementary-school","tag-entertainment","tag-puerto-rico","tag-student-artwork","tag-student-collaboration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}