Big Arts in the Little Apple Pieces Displayed in a Community-wide Exhibit
Big Arts in the Little Apple, a collaborative program between The Building for Kids Children’s Museum (BFKCM) and the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra, will be unveiling a community-wide art exhibit on April 5. Over 650 original pieces were created by Appleton Area School District 3rd and 4th grade students this past fall and will be displayed in various places in the community through May 15.
The program brought art and music with a new twist into the Appleton Public Schools. Students were challenged to listen to, “Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life), TrV 190, Op. 40” an orchestral tone poem composed by Richard Strauss, and then create visual art inspired by the music. The piece musically depicts the adventures, battles, loves and the life of a hero. As students listened they were encouraged think about and visualize the different elements in the music, such as melody, rhythm, dynamics, tone color, instrumentation and texture, and use that to create their pieces.
The art pieces inspired by “Ein Heldenleben” range from abstract to more figurative, bright colors to more muted tones. Over 35 locations are housing the unique pieces, most being in downtown Appleton. A map featuring all the locations can be found at buildingforkids.org/big-arts-in-the-little-apple or at one of the art locations.
“Big Arts in the Little Apple encouraged students to explore different ways to spark inspiration and creativity,” said Jarrad Bittner, executive director for the BFKCM. “Being able to have helped create this experience for the students, and then share their art with the community has been a very rewarding experience.”
On May 19 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., all of the pieces will be exhibited at the BFKCM for Art on the Town. The art reception will also feature live performances by members of the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra, an instrument petting zoo hosted by Heid Music and more.
Big Arts in the Little Apple was made possible with the generous support of the Appleton Area School District, Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, Heid Music, Mielke Family Foundation, Octoberfest, Richeson School of Art & Gallery and School Specialty.
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