Woodbury middle schooler recognized for 'socially relevant' artwork

• Molly Gallahue

Molly Gallahue
• 'Wells'

'Wells'

Talk about it

Pictures speak louder than words. The old adage rings true for Molly Gallahue. The Woodbury Middle School eighth grader recently had her illustrative work included in an art show in Baltimore, Md.

“I was pretty excited when I found out about this,” Molly said about the feat. “I think it’s kinda cool to be able to show what I can do.”

Molly’s artwork was part of a project sponsored by the National Art Education Association to bring awareness to social justice organizations.

Her artwork, an illustration promoting the “Charity Wells” organization, was electronically displayed during the National Arts Education Association’s annual conference April 13-18.

Each year NAEA and Artsonia sponsor the national conference where student artwork is displayed, and each year there is a different theme.

According to the NAEA website, the theme for this year’s conference was “social justice.”

“Our nation is truly questioning itself in order to discover and redefine who we are as a nation, what we believe in, and what needs to change,” the website states.

So how did the Woodbury eighth grader get involved?

Her art teacher Sue Kapsner’s students recently completed an assignment where they produced artwork that promoted a social cause.

“The whole idea was to look beyond your own backyard and see how art can have an effect,” Kapsner said.

Kapsner said the assignment was a hard sell among the students because it did have that research aspect to it.

For the assignment, Molly picked the aid organization “Charity Wells,” an organization that builds clean water wells in underprivileged countries.

“I learned there are a lot of people who are a lot less fortunate than we are,” she said.

Gallahue’s piece includes an image of a well, a memorable quote and where to go for more information about “Charity Wells.” The artwork was done with water color and crayons.

“In Molly’s piece you see that well right away — you know what it is right away,” Kapsner said. “Plus it’s well painted — it’s simple and precise.”

“It’s nice to be able to show students that art goes beyond these classroom walls,” she said.

For more information on Artsonia, visit http://www.artsonia.com. For more information on the National Art Education Association, visit http://www.arteducators.org/

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