SHREVEPORT, La., July 31, 2014 –The Rainforest Art Foundation is designing programs, fundraisers, and plans for renovating a space in its location at the former YWCA building to be the future Young Artist Gallery and kids workspace when the building opens December 21. The first fundraising project will be a part of the Lucky Sevens opening reception, the Marlene Yu Meet and Greet party at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum, September 25. RAF is calling out to its supporters to sponsor this event in exchange for recognition and other prizes. Funds raised from sponsors will be used towards the Young Artist Gallery and it’s first children’s educational program, the Biology and Art Exploration Program (BAEP), designed by Rebekah White.
The Young Artist Gallery space has been a children’s play area, nursery, and cafeteria during its time as the YWCA, and RAF intends to honor the history of the space. It will be used as a place for young artists to display their work in a gallery to gain more exposure in the community. This space will also be used for children’s outreach programs such as the BAEP and an annual art project to become a mural of different species of fish created by kids in the area.
BAEP is a hands on program designed to help children learn art and science in a fun environment. The six-week summer sessions will explore concepts of butterflies and blending, plants and perspectives, taxonomy and texture, and camouflage and color. Age groups will be divided into 3-5 year olds, 1st-3rd grade, and 4th-5th grades.
The 2014-2015 annual kids art project focuses on biology concepts of interdependence and symbiosis by inviting as many kids as possible to participate in creating a larger work of art. Kids will be given colorable sheets of paper with fins on them of different fish. The fins will be attached to recycled bottles to create “bottle fish” that will be incorporated into a large mural-style multimedia painting. There are four different oceanic environments with fish that specialize in each to be incorporated into the project.
The Lucky Sevens is a series of 7 shows in honor of Marlene Yu’s 77th year and 70th solo exhibition at 7 local institutions. Yu is the founder of the Rainforest Art Foundation and paints large-scale abstractions of nature. She has over 4,000 paintings from 35+ series to select 7 different themes of non-overlapping works for each show.
To make a donation or learn more about BAEP, the kid’s art project, and the young artist gallery please visit www.rainforestartfoundation.org. To learn more about the Lucky Sevens please visit www.marleneyumuseum.org. For any other inquiries call (318) 797-9111 or email rainforestartfoundation@gmail.com.
Contact:
Iris MacLean
Public Relations Intern
Rainforest Art Foundation
Marlene Yu Museum
(318) 840-5213
www.rainforestartfoundation.org
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