sPark Art Show

The sPARK Mobile Art Studio, which provides summer art opportunities for kids in the St. Peter area, will host its Student Artists’ Art Show Reception on Saturday, Aug. 13 starting at 10 a.m. at the St. Peter Public Library (601 S. Washington Ave.). The exhibit will be on display at the Public Library through the end of September.

“The show will have photos from throughout the summer of the kids working on their art and their artwork, as well as the murals they all created with guest artist Justin EK (we will also have one by him, too) and a collaborative cardboard sculpture installation,” April Malphurs, sPARK Mobile Art Studio coordinator, said. “At the reception, we will have snacks and another collaborative art project.”

The artists are children who participated in the sPARK mobile art studio from Park Row Apartments, GreenValley Mobile Home Park, Marway Mobile Home Park, Summit Park, the Islamic Center, and neighborhood families and day care children who attended at Gorman Park and Summit Park.

The mission of the sPARK program is to break down barriers of attendance by taking the art program to children in neighborhoods where they live. The grant funding helps to reach BIPOC youth and this year 60% of children attending were from BIPOC heritage.

“We wanted to host an art show as a way of making the children's voices visible in the community through their art,” Malphurs said.

The program is funded through Saint Peter Community and Family Education and a grant from Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council through funds provided by the voters of Minnesota through the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

“This is the second year of the sPARK program and we increased the number of children served from year one to year two overall, as well as the percentage of BIPOC children reached,” Malphurs said.