LOLA Arts Awarded CPP Grant from Wisconsin Arts Board
LOLA Arts is ecstatic to announce they’ve been awarded a Creation Presentation Program Grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board. CPP grants provide artistic program support to established nonprofit arts organizations who create or present ongoing arts programming that make significant local or regional impact. The $3510 grant help will help buy frames and supplies for LOLA’s Community Art Event, Youth Art Month, and offset costs towards teaching stipends for their homeschool Art and Music program.
Started in 1961, Youth Art Month is a national program administered by the Council for Art Education (CFAE) and is a celebration of the visual arts. Youth Art Month encourages support for quality school art programs, and provides a medium for recognizing skills developed through visual arts experiences, such as creativity, communication, and problem solving. Art shows, special exhibits, fundraisers, and school and community activities take place annually, traditionally during March, to celebrate visual art education for grades K–12.
LOLA holds a youth art exhibit every March, framing pieces from all students in Land O’ Lakes Elementary, SOAR Middle School, Watersmeet K12, and LOLA homeschooled students. The exhibit is displayed in the main gallery room, with the dates this year, Mon-Fri March 11th-22nd, 10am-3pm, with a Saturday reception March 16th from 10am-2pm. Last year, over 173 pieces were displayed. A special part of Youth Art Month is that after the exhibit, the students get to keep the frame their piece is displayed in, creating a sense of pride as they get to have their framed art hung at home. The CPP grant will go to partially funding the costs of the frames.
“This is one of my favorite LOLA events,” said Cassandra Nass, a local artist who is a part of the Artistree Gallery. “I love seeing all the creativity from the kids.” Indeed, all the walls and even three large stand up panels, are covered in bright pieces of varying sizes. Kindergartners through high school seniors all have work displayed. “It’s amazing seeing all the levels and emotions of art in one place,” says LOLA’s Marketing person McCall Hocking. “From the cute and funny elementary work to the more serious high school level. I love watching the students come in and be so excited to see their work.” The students from Lando Elem and SOAR MS make the trek over during the school day to visit the show, and Watersmeet is hoping to get bussed over. Emily Gritt, the Watersmeet art teacher, says “It has been a joy seeing how proud the students are when they see their art work framed and in a gallery space. They very much look forward to being a part of the exhibit every year. We work together to choose and prepare one of their strongest pieces to send for display.”
The CPP grant will also go towards paying LOLA’s Homeschool program teachers. LOLA offers three levels of art and music classes in the spring and fall semesters, with classes going 8 weeks. The program is open to any child homeschooled from 5.5 to 18 years of age, and students come from all over the Northwoods.
LOLA would like to thank the Wisconsin Arts Board for this grant and their continued support of the arts.