O’Hearn Elementary student’s work selected for national art exhibition

BOSTON – A work of art by Patrick O’Hearn Elementary School student Naieer Shaheed will represent the state of Massachusetts in the “All Kids Can…CREATE!” exhibition, which will open in June in Washington, D.C.  Naieer, of Dorchester, is a third-grader at the school.

Naieer’s chalk pastel drawing Clementines will be on display at Union Station in the nation’s capital from June 1 – 21, 2009 and will then commence a two-year tour to children’s museums across the country. The exhibit, organized by VSA arts and the CVS Caremark All Kids Can program, seeks to advance the role of the arts in inclusive education. Clementines is one of 51 pieces, representing each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, to be selected from among 4,500 entries for the exhibit.

“We are thrilled that Naieer’s drawing will represent Massachusetts in this national exhibit,” said Boston Public Schools Superintendent Carol R. Johnson. “At the O’Hearn, children with and without disabilities learn together, and the school’s success with arts programming can serve as an example as we work towards the district goal of every Boston Public Schools student graduating high school having had an arts-rich educational experience.”

Last fall, VSA arts and CVS Caremark All Kids Can invited children across the United States ages 5 to 15 to create a piece of visual art. Children were encouraged to create artwork based on the theme, “Celebrating Who I Am.”

Clementines came from a lesson based on the work by Paul Cezanne.  The students used their knowledge of geometric shapes and forms to simplify the subject matter and created drawings on toned paper using chalk pastels.  Visual Arts Teacher Mark Johnson and Christine McKinnon, an intern from the Massachusetts School of Art and Design, facilitated the class.

About CVS Caremark All Kids Can
All Kids Can...CREATE! is part of CVS Caremark All Kids Can, a five-year, $25 million commitment to support children with disabilities. The goals of CVS Caremark All Kids Can are to support children with disabilities by raising awareness in schools and in local communities about the importance of inclusion, creating greater opportunities for physical activity and play, and providing access to medical rehabilitation and related services. For more information, visit www.cvscaremarkallkidscan.com.

About VSA arts
VSA arts is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1974 to create a society where people with disabilities learn through, participate in, and enjoy the arts. VSA arts provides educators, parents, and artists with resources and the tools to support arts programming in schools and communities. For more information, visit www.vsarts.org.