Open Studio Project and Young Evanston Artists will team up to host YEA! Fest, a festival showcasing artwork by Evanston students, in Raymond Park on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Local teachers will have the opportunity to display their students’ artwork at the festival. All schools in the Evanston area are invited to participate, allowing families to see what their children have been working on throughout the school year.
OSP is a nonprofit that provides therapeutic and educational arts programming to children and adults. It aims to promote social-emotional learning and community well-being through journaling and art-making. Though this is the 44th year YEA! will host the event, this is the first year with OSP as a partner.
OSP Creative Director Hope Washinushi is also the executive director of YEA!. When she took over the exhibition in 2018, she created a new board and added hands-on arts activities and food trucks to the exhibition.
“OSP’s mission aligns very closely with YEA!’s mission, so it was a natural fit for OSP and YEA! to partner,” Washinushi said.
Washinushi said the festival took six to eight months to plan, and she started by talking to Evanston/Skokie School District 65 art and music teachers to recruit as many schools as possible to participate.
In addition to the art displays, the event will also have food trucks, live music, and art activities. La Cocinita, The Fat Shallot, Hello Boba and All Belgium Waffles will have food trucks parked along Lake Street.
OSP Development and Communications Manager Jenny Palsgrove said YEA! Fest will feature live performances by local students this year, including Hole in the Wall, a middle school band, and choirs from Dawes, Kingsley and Lincoln elementary schools.
Palsgrove said highlighting the arts is key to ensuring that public schools continue to receive funding for their art and music departments.
“We need to make sure that this is still funded and make sure that people know how important it is to these kids as well,” Palsgrove said.
OSP Executive Director Rob Lentz said about 30 schools, including Evanston Township High School, will display student artwork. YEA! will also expand its programming to include year-round workshops, mentorships and summer camps through its partnership with OSP.
Lentz noted the importance of inviting the public to see the art that local students are creating.
“I think it sends a really powerful message about the importance of art and art education in schools, in a time when everybody’s worried about funding cuts,” Lentz said. “It’s really exciting to be able to put this on display for the whole community. There’s sort of a feeling that art isn’t important or isn’t prioritized, and we think it should be.”
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