My Long Beach

Each year, the Education Department collaborates with Christine Whipp, the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) art curriculum leader to coordinate three exhibitions of elementary, middle and high school work in conjunction with the Museum’s exhibition cycle, for the Toyota Children’s Gallery. This year’s middle school exhibition titled My Long Beach explores students’ interpretations of the Long Beach community. Whether through a portrayal of the city as a whole, specific neighborhoods or landmarks, or even individual homes, the works of art in this exhibition reflect on the connectedness we feel to the places we encounter in the world around us.

A Call for Work sent out by Christine Whipp at the start of the school year provided middle school art teachers with the theme, size and media requirements, as well as teaching resources to ensure both teaching the concepts and creating the material were accessible and supported. Using the Call for Work and resources provided, teachers devised and assigned project lesson plans to their respective classes in fitting with the theme and submission requirements. Six middle schools participated in My Long Beach: Herbert Hoover, Will Rogers, Leland Stanford, Stephens, Franklin, and Marshall Academy of the Arts. 85 artworks were chosen from over 100 submissions received and juried by the Education Department. The selected works, chosen based on visual depiction of the theme and artist merit, range from drawing and painting to other media such as digital design and ceramic.

Image: Charles Navarro, Arise, Stanford Middle School, Grade 8, Colored pencil on paper