From
O'odham Action News (May 2, 2019)
Art students from the Accelerated Learning Academy and guests gathered outside the Huhugam Ki Museum on Wednesday, April 17, waiting for the opening reception for their art exhibition, “The Power of Art.”
As the clock struck 5 p.m., the students walked into the building and were greeted by their ALA art teacher, Edith Eubank, and museum staff. As guests walked in, they were given catalogs with information on the students and their artwork.
The students were given the opportunity to cut the tape to the entrance of the gallery. Huhugam Ki Museum Manager Gary Owns welcomed the art students and expressed his happiness at having the opportunity to display their creations at the museum.
Eubank also welcomed everyone to the exhibition’s opening. “It has been my pleasure working with [these students] this past school year. It’s been a little bumpy, I am sure, because I was demanding, but they came through. I really appreciate [their efforts], and I hope they appreciate it too.”
Sixteen ALA students have artworks on display: Angel Billinor, Kierra W. Burton, Zarious Bryant, Ethan Masa-Bishop, Antonia Alvardo, Hayden Rivers, Manuel Gonzales, Girard Lopez, Victoria Flores, Jarin Redbird, Laura Faulkner, Jacob Silversmith, Evangelena Burns, Bianca Naranjo, Desire Zambrano and Aniecya Miles.
The students mingled with family, friends and guests and answered questions about their artwork. Eubank said that the exhibition title, “The Power of Art,” came from the students themselves.
“I gave different focuses for the students to [consider]; they are the ones who came out with ‘The Power of Art.’ We decided to have a mesh of some of the [artistic styles] we [worked on] this school year: surrealism, nature, self-portraits, to the abstract, which they all loved; and the last one was the superheroes,” said Eubank. “They were very creative on the superhero project. [O]ne [student chose to focus on] a villain.”
Steve Hoza, Huhugam Ki Museum archivist, was the curator of the exhibition and worked with the students on setting up the displays for their art pieces.
Not all the artwork is on display at the museum; some pieces are on display at the ALA front office.
The exhibition at the Huhugam Ki Museum will be up through April 17, 2020. Museum hours are Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.