Arts Council Billboards Feature Lansing Youth Art

MSUFCU and Adams Outdoor Help Support Youth Art Month

LANSING, Mich., March, 3, 2015 – March is Youth Art Month, and the Arts Council of Greater Lansing is excited to feature the work of four Lansing-area young artists on digital billboards around the Greater Lansing Region in celebration of youth art.

Originally launched in 1961, Youth Art Month is a national program, which was instituted by the Art & Creative Materials Institute, Inc. and the National Art Education Association to celebrate youth visual arts for grades K-12. Most importantly, the program emphasizes the importance of the role of the arts in a child’s education and why all children deserve to have a quality arts education as part of their curriculum.

To help bring attention to the importance of arts education and Youth Arts Month, the Arts Council partnered with Adams Outdoor Advertising and Michigan State University Federal Credit Union, both longtime supporters of the arts in our region, to feature the works of four area youth artists on billboards for the entire month of March.

The digital boards feature the works of Wren Miller, a tenth-grade student from Williamston High School (Michigan Avenue downtown Lansing), Amer Eshkuntana, a first-grade student from North Elementary (I-496 at Pennsylvania Ave.) Carter Johnson, a fourth-grade student from Cole Academy ( I-496 E. bound ramp at Cedar St., Lansing) and Emma Rutkowski, a twelfth-grade student from East Lansing High School (I-96 between Okemos and US 127. Emma’s work was the first-place winner of the MSUFCU Student Art Exhibit. All other works were submitted by area teachers and final pieces were chosen based on composition and overall visual elements, including roadside appeal.

“We are so happy to support young creatives in our area through our Arts Council Young Creatives Program,” says Deborah E. Mikula, Arts Council executive director. “We are grateful to Adams Outdoor Advertising and MSUFCU for their support in making this project happen. It’s very exciting for the region and for the students who are so proud of their work, and reinforces the importance of arts education.”

 Founded in 1965, the Arts Council of Greater Lansing is a non-profit organization that exists to support, strengthen and promote art, culture and creativity in the capital region. For more information, visit www.www.lansingarts.org.