‘8th Annual ‘Alaska’s Heart Through Student Art’ Event Showcases Alaskan Student Art’ by Sam Jordan

(Photos by Sam Jordan)

Last month, the Alaska Council of School Administrators (ACSA) hosted the 8th Annual ‘Alaska’s Heart Through Student Art’ reception. The event, held in Juneau at the the Andrew P. Kashevaroff State Museum, is an annual statewide celebration and auction of student art from Alaska’s 54 school districts. Legislators, statewide educational leaders, teachers, and student artists came together to celebrate and support student artistic achievement in Alaska.

(Photos by Michael Penn)

(Photos by Michael Penn and Sam Jordan)

This is the 8th year that Alaska Council for School Administrators has sponsored this showcase event. Schools shipped pieces to Juneau where ACSA staff and volunteers from the Alaska Arts Education Consortium set up displays in the exhibition hallway and main floor of the museum.

(Photos by Sam Jordan)
(Photo by Michael Penn)

The reception featured both a silent and a live auction. Superintendents Bill Hill and Erica Kludt-Painter served as auctioneers as legislators and school leaders enthusiastically bid. Music performances by Juneau School District students and a local band kept the setting lively. By the end of the night, many attendees left with at least one new art piece for their homes and offices. Student artists who chose to participate in the auction received 60% of the proceeds of the sale with the other 40% going to the annual Student Champion Scholarship, which supports Alaskan high school students to further develop their skills as artists.