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PAST NEWS ARCHIVE
October 26, 2001
Contact: Patricia Fraga, Austin Public Library, (512) 974-7528
Fax: (512) 974-7442

Children's Art Exhibit to be featured at Storyfest on November 3

An art exhibit by the children of Escuelita del Alma Learning Center, entitled "Almitas Diversas--Discovering Latin American Art," will be featured at the Austin Public Library's Storyfest celebration on Saturday, November 3, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Faulk Central Library, 800 Guadalupe. The exhibit is provided by La Peña Latino Arts Organization, and will run through November 21, 2001.

The exhibit is the result of a learning process subscribed to and best described by Dina Flores, director of the Escuelita del Alma Learning Center, 213 Congress Avenue. "Art is a part of them [the children]. Many of the ways they communicate and develop is through art," she says. Some of the features of the exhibit include a big pyramid (representing Belize), a blue board with necklaces (representing Colombia), groups of worry dolls (representing Guatemala), one Tree of Life (representing Mexico), two small molas (representing Panama), four piñatas (representing El Salvador), an oxcart (representing Costa Rica), and twelve paper sculptures (representing Nicaragua).

The Learning Center integrates art directly into the youth curriculum. The multi-ethnicity at the downtown center helps kids learn to interact across racial lines-a skill they'll need as adults, researchers say. More than half the children at Escuelita are either Hispanic or multiracial, the rest are white; it's the look of Texas public schools in 2003.

"Storyfest: A Storybook Festival for Families" is a free celebration in honor of Austin Public Library's 75th birthday celebration, and will be held at Wooldridge Park (between 9th and 10th streets, west of Guadalupe), the Austin History Center (810 Guadalupe) and the Faulk Central Library (800 Guadalupe).

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