Art event engages 300,000 children in Northwest Arkansas and nationwide
Walmart announced today that it is kicking off its holiday season with one of the largest children’s art events in history, called Everyartist Live!, engaging hundreds of thousands of elementary school children in a nationwide celebration of art and creativity.
Thursday, Nov. 21, children in Benton and Washington counties and across the U.S. will create original pieces of artwork with the theme of gratitude in mind. Their creative canvases will then be displayed online and in art museums including Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and The Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Locally, organizers estimate that 40,000 children will participate across Northwest Arkansas. Art created by area children will be displayed beginning in December in time for Winter Break at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and beginning in January at The Walton Arts Center, The Jones Center for Families and the Fayetteville and Bentonville Trails and Pathways.
The event is part of a partnership between the Walmart Museum, Walmart and Everyartist.me, an organization that seeks to foster the creative development of children around the country.
“Walmart is committed to improving the communities where our associates live, work and play,” said Alan Dranow, senior director of the Walmart Heritage Group. “Hosting this event for our associates and their children, as well as families nationwide, is one way to embody the ‘Live Better’ side of our mission.”
As founding sponsors, Walmart and the Walmart Museum are committed to joining Everyartist.me in its goal to spark human creativity and foster creativity by nurturing and celebrating the artist in every child.
In April of 2012, more than 8,500 children from the Bentonville School District came together to fill a football field with their works of art, now displayed in a mural at the intersection of Main Street and Central Avenue in Bentonville, near the Walmart Museum.
This year, Everyartist.me has expanded their goal to hold the largest art event in history. Brendan O’Connell, co-founder of Everyartist.me and the artist behind “The Walmart Series” collection is inspired to bring this democratic art experience to millions of children nationwide on an annual basis and to provide on-going support through a digital community.
125 schools across Benton and Washington counties will set aside time for children to create their own artistic interpretations of gratitude on Nov. 21. Students who are homeschooled are also invited to participate by attending events at the following locations:
- Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Experience Art Studio.
- Walton Arts Center from 9:30 a.m. to noon in Community Creative Center Children’s Studio located in Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studio
- Walton Arts Center from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Donald W. Reynolds Boys and Girls Club on Rupple Road in east Fayetteville
Following the event, parents and students can upload artwork through the Everyartist app and join the national conversation about why #CREATIVITYMATTERS on Twitter & Facebook.