COVID forced Fresno-area art students online. Here’s how they kept the show going

When Sanger Academy seventh-grader Selah El Issa started creating art this year, she wasn’t thinking of pursuing the subject seriously.

But that was before the Central Youth Art Month competition in Fresno County.

The annual competition brings together the top works students from around the central San Joaquin Valley. The theme for this year’s exhibition was “Art Connects Us.” In total, nine school districts, 17 schools, 20 art teachers, and 56 student artists participated in this year’s competition.

During a non-COVID year, the top placed works would be exhibited nationally at the National Art Education Association conference. But the pandemic forced this year’s competition online.

This year’s exhibition was entirely online through the support of the California Art Education Association and the organizing efforts of Fresno State’s Department of Art and Humanities and Fresno State’s Department of Art and Design.

You can view the exhibit at this link.

“We tried to make the connection through this show. We tried to make ‘connection’ the entire theme,” coordinator Ah Ran Koo said. “It’s an unforgettable experience, art teachers are saying they had been struggling so much throughout the year, and this exhibition is a great relief to showcase.”

For students like El Issa or first-place winner Clovis East junior Hailey Gaya, it changed how they see art and artists.

“I never really thought of doing it in my education future, but since quarantine, I’ve been doing it a lot more, and I’ve decided to continue pursuing it,” El Issa told The Bee’s Education Lab.

“For me, I love drawing and art. It has always been my main pastime, but especially in quarantine, I’ve been drawing a lot,” Clovis East senior Destiny Murray said.

“I thought it would be fun to participate in it because I’ve never done anything like this before, so it’s just a new experience for me,” Gaya said. “I plan on doing art again for my senior year and probably continue doing that in college.”

The experience also allowed teachers to connect with their students during a year of Zoom calls and virtual meet-ups.

“With so many students having to their classes through a computer screen doing something tactile is a real release. They crave that kind of an experience because they are not getting that otherwise,” said Madera South High School teacher Kathleen Fuller.

Clovis East teacher Steven Parra found teaching art to students this year virtually was an opportunity to motivate them and continue their studies.

“One student said, ‘you know I thought about talking to my other teachers, but you are not as judgy. I’m wondering if I should finish, I’m talking to people at home, and I could just get a job,’” Parra said after talking with his student, he convinced him to stay in school, and now “he’s almost done” and will be graduating with his class.

This story was originally published April 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM.