​Unquowa Students Among Featured in International Children's Art Show

From the Maritime Aquarium: Drawings by two students at The Unquowa School in Fairfield are among those featured in a special gallery show featuring 146 works by children from 18 countries, now open at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk.

Daniel Vash and Sneha Sunder have entries in the International Children’s Art Exhibit, presented by Creative Connections of Norwalk now through Sept. 4. The exhibit is free because it is displayed in The Maritime Aquarium’s IMAX® Theater lobby, which can be entered without paid admission.

Theme of the 2017 show is “Team Up!” The drawings and paintings were created by children in Grades 3 to 12 who were asked – through Creative Connections’ ArtLink program – to draw and paint pictures that show “the many ways they or others in their country, community or families come together to achieve a goal.” More than 5,000 students around the world submitted pieces.

For the local exhibit, entries were chosen by a panel of educators and artists for “the keen cultural insight each communicates.”

In “New Year’s Eve in Times Square,” Daniel used colored pencil to show throngs of people gathered to jointly celebrate the beginning of a new year. A sea of heads fills the space beneath glowing signs and a spray of fireworks as the famous ball drops.

In “Working Together One Block at a Time,” Sneha used crayons and markers to show a group of people – children, perhaps – teaming up to construct a Lego® building. Hands come into the frame from all directions, each contributing a colored block to the creation.

Previously, during the school year, art by the American students was exchanged with pieces by students from overseas, allowing insights into their partners’ cultures. Many schools also held video conferences with an international school to share details about the project and themselves.

Generally, the exhibit proves that moments or topics chosen as meaningful by Connecticut students – family, friends, traditions, faith and activities – are similarly important to children around the globe. Pieces are included from 17 international countries, including Uganda, Nigeria, Japan, Jordan, Cyprus, Russia, China, Sri Lanka, Guatemala and Brazil.

Exhibit sponsors include the Connecticut DECD’s Office of the Arts and the United States-Japan Foundation.

Creative Connections is a non-profit international cultural exchange organization that educates young people by encouraging their awareness, understanding and appreciation of other cultures as well as of their own. Learn more at www.creativeconnections.org.

For more details about other exhibits, IMAX movies, programs and more at The Maritime Aquarium this summer, go to www.maritimeaquarium.org or call (203) 852-0700.

Images courtesy of the Maritime Aquarium