Every great artwork should have a place on the fridge, but more than 100 Selbyville students of all ages also have their work on display for Kids ART Month.
The Selbyville Community Club hosts the annual month-long celebration of student fine arts each March at the Selbyville Public Library. From kindergarten to 12th grade, all children from the 19975 zip code are invited to participate, including home-schoolers.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity. It gets my students’ work out into the community to people who wouldn’t otherwise know they do this kind of work,” Jamie Moore, art teacher at Southern Delaware School of the Arts, “and my students do remarkable work.”
The actual opening of the event is set for Saturday, March 8, between 2 and 4 p.m., with Selbyville Mayor Clifton Murray scheduled to present awards around 2:15 p.m. Refreshments will be served.
“It shows them that somebody in the community values what they do,” especially when the mayor shakes their hands,” Moore said. “That’s a wonderful thing for the children … that someone values what they do. … And I think that’s wonderful that the community gets behind that.”
Now celebrating its 10th year, the art show began as a simple coloring contest.
“We have certainly matured,” said Jackie Bates, arts chair for the group. Now, the paintings are matted, and sculpture is also part of the show.
“But, Jackie Bates, she encourages more work. She wants to see more work and huge variety,” Moore said. “I typically take about 30 pieces, and the kids get very excited.”
Recent weather slowed the artistic process, but Bates said that, in the past, that has meant fewer but even stronger pieces are entered.
After the artworks are judged, many will hang in the front windows of town businesses, as well as the library, for a whole month.
