NEWS

Art show unites charter schools

Matthew Albright
The News Journal

The brown tribal mask looked much older than it was, though it did take Newark Charter School freshman Mimi Diani a long time to make it.

After molding the clay and firing it in a kiln, she painted lines of white paint in a way that evoked for her a connection with her African ancestors, then applied a glaze that cracked to give the impression of great age.

“I was really proud when I saw it when it was done,” Diani said. “I put a lot of work into it, and I was really excited with how it turned out.”

Diani’s mask was one of 300 paintings, drawings, sculptures, photographs and other pieces on display during the Charter School Art Show on Friday night. The event was held in the atrium of the Community Education Building in Wilmington, the former Bank of America building that has become a home for city charters.

In addition to those items, school groups like a string quartet, chorus and drum ensemble performed.

Stephanie Morton, the visual arts coordinator at Kuumba Academy, said the event is a way to celebrate the importance of art as a way for students to learn to express themselves. Perhaps her favorite piece was a reproduction of a long mural that sits in a hallway at the school that includes self-portraits done by each of the Kuumba students.

But Morton said the event had another purpose as a celebration of School Choice Week, a national campaign to promote giving parents more options for where to send their kids to school.

“It’s important that, as charters, we show the community what we’re about and how vibrant the options are for parents,” she said. “There’s not just one mold that you have to fit your child into.”

After growing by leaps and bounds over the past few years, especially in Wilmington, charters have started to face growing pushback in recent months. Several high-profile groups have called for at least a temporary hold on new charters entering the city, with worries that they are weakening traditional schools, with several saying charters need to do a better job collaborating with other schools.

Kendall Massett, executive director of the Delaware Charter Schools network, said the Art Show illustrates that the state’s charters are doing a better job of working together.

“It’s fitting that this is being held in the Community Education Building, because what we’re showing here is that we really are a community,” Massett said. “That hasn’t always been the case, but more and more you’re seeing great events like this that show how well our schools are collaborating.”

Contact Matthew Albright at malbright@delawareonline.com, 324-2428 or on Twitter @TNJ_malbright.