by Katie Trojano
The Margaret Clark Education Enrichment Fund of the Redlands Art Association will showcase creative kids on May 25 and 26 at the first-ever Youth Art Exposition, in conjunction with The Redlands Festival of Art and Art in the Park.
The Redlands Festival of Arts is a nonprofit fine arts show attended by more than 7,000 persons each year. The organization’s grants support student artists and emerging artists, helping them develop their talents and exhibit their works. This year will mark the seventh annual Festival of Arts and Art in the Park.
Margaret Clark came to Redlands in 1947 and for 50 years influenced the present and future of art and culture in the San Bernardino Valley. She was a professor at the U of R for 26 years, instructing elementary teacher candidates and emphasizing her passion for using art to teach and reach students. According to the Redlands Art Association’s website, Clark is quoted to have once said, “Art is not just for artists, success in art gives a child greater self-esteem. Then he can learn better.” In 1964, she joined Ben Rabe, an architect and painter, and co-founded the Redlands Art Association.
Today, named in her honor, the Margaret Clark Art Education Enrichment Fund carries on her legacy of devotion to bringing art to the Redlands community. The fund offers a wide range of arts programs for kids and adults to enrich the Redlands community. Programs are financed by the Classic Movie Series and community contributions.
Annette Weis, coordinator of the Redlands Art Association’s Redlands Cinema Classic, is excited for the upcoming Youth Art Expo. Weis said that the youth art tent will feature a three-paneled exhibition, where the winners’ work will be displayed. Weis also anticipates that there will be interactive art stations set up, so that all kids who attend can make some art.
Weis has been working at the Redlands Art Association for 20 years, primarily within the Redlands Cinema Classic, which showcases art films through the support of the Studio Movie Grill, formerly known as the Krikorian movie theater. Weis spoke about how the Redlands Cinema Classic started in 1999, “It was so well accepted, and there’s a need for good art house films and foreign films so that’s how it got started. The proceeds, which are primarily from four series in the spring and four in the fall, go to fund art education program in public schools.”
Read the article at the Redlands Community News.
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