October First Friday 2023 - Noto Arts Center

 A personal goal of mine as an art teacher is to expose my students to the art world in all of its facets as much as possible.  When they graduate, I want them to know that they can continue creating and be a part of the art world, have a place to show their artwork (how to show that artwork), and also have connections in that art world already established.  

The Noto Arts Center located in the NOTO Arts District has been gracious enough to allow Topeka High Art students to show their artwork in their building for 2 years now.  They have a spacious back room where art students have been able to showcase art that ranges from all the media taught at Topeka High -  Digital Photography, Painting, Printmaking, Drawing, Ceramics, Advanced Placement Art, and more. 

No matter where we show in town though, I make sure to have a group of students help me set up/hang up the show.  They get to be a part of the process of mounting their artwork to display, arranging the show, hanging the artwork, and promoting it.  While we are hanging the artwork, they also have time to talk to the business owners who allow us to show artwork for Topeka High, making those connections for places to show their artwork before even graduating. 

A joy about this process is that the students get to be a part of First Fridays in Topeka.  Remember from my last post, First Fridays are where galleries and other similar type venues are open later on a First Friday of the month to showcase artists and their work.  Students get to see the community enjoy their artwork, and also hear the great feedback that is offered by the viewers.  As a young artist, it is really important to hear the positive feedback that the community offers, it lets them know to keep doing what they are doing and there are people out there who genuinely enjoy their work.  A student summed it up best - "Being a part of First Fridays here makes me feel really good about myself, and like I could make it as an artist"

Personally, I love seeing their smiles and their faces light up when they show up with their friends and families to showcase their handwork paying off, while the community is able to see how talented these young up and coming artist are.