For many years, the Watertown Public Schools Art Show has been displayed at the Watertown Mall, but the Coronavirus has forced the district to find a new venue — a virtual venue.
The Connecting Through Creativity – WPS Virtual Art Show 2020 can now be seen online, and features works from every grade at every school in the district.
The Watertown’s Coordinator of Fine, Applied, and Performing Arts Magen Slesinger provided the following information:
The Watertown Public Schools Visual Art Department is proud to present our first ever Virtual Art Show!
When looking at visual art, we are often looking at the beautiful end product. And rest assured, you will see lots of beautiful pieces in this show. Yet while we are extremely proud of the work our students have produced and continue to create, our intention is not to celebrate the end products, but the artistic process itself.
Our community is struggling with fear, loneliness and isolation. We are yearning to find meaningful ways to reconnect, to support one another and to find joy in unprecedented times.
Artists everywhere are piercing through the darkness with their light, as they make connections, boost one another up, and create a sense of community that can’t be contained within the walls of quarantine. They find joy, strength and solace within themselves and are sharing it with others through visual art.
The Watertown Public Schools Fine, Applied and Performing Arts Department believes in the power of art to heal, to empower, and to inspire. We invite you to join us as we connect with and celebrate one another.
You will see a mix of work in this show, some created in our traditional format before schools closed and some created during quarantine, using whatever materials and inspiration could be found on hand. During this period of remote learning, our students have used visual art to center themselves, express themselves and connect with one another and their community.
In this spirit, we offer you our first ever Virtual Art Show!
Congratulations to Magen Slesinger and her staff for the wonderful job they did in creating a virtual 2020 Art Show. The Watertown Mall has hosted this event for many years but due to covid/19 it had to be cancelled. Director Slesinger was able to turn a disappointment to her staff and students into a vibrant, uplifting experience for all to enjoy.