Imagination Generation Workshop at LaVale

The Allegany Arts Council is pleased to expand and reimagine its long-running youth art show, The Imagination Generation, which will take place March 2-23, 2024!

About the Show

For many years, the Allegany Arts Council partnered with Allegany County Public Schools to curate a selection of student artwork with the assistance of ACPS arts educators, resulting in a show which offered prizes and awards to students in elementary, middle and high school, even partnering with Frostburg State University to generate a scholarship for students pursuing careers in art.

How the Show is Changing

Through the years, we have received feedback from local homeschool groups, private school programs, and individuals asking us to expand the show to include all students. With this feedback, we began to ask ourselves questions about the goals of this exhibition - with the following themes emerging:

• Our goal is to create an inclusive experience for all youth, ages 2-18, who wish to participate in the show, regardless of skill level, selection or school placement.
• Our goal is to recognize that some students may not thrive in a structured academic setting but enjoy creative expression and the joy of art for the sake of it.
• Our goal is to reach parts of our community which are underserved, ensuring any student who wishes to participate has the opportunity.

As such, this year we will not have a juror or awards - we have set aside a small fund which we will determine how best to support student art programming moving ahead.

How the Show Works

To facilitate the participation of as many students as possible, we are partnering with the Allegany County Library System to host a series of art-making workshops. Each workshop will provide art supplies and basic assistance. Our goal is to get out of the way and allow kids to create!

At the conclusion of each workshop, we will collect and inventory works received, bring them to the gallery, prep them for exhibition, and return them to the library locations following the show.  Families will also be able to drop works for collection during this time, even if their child is not participating in the workshop. We also welcome teachers who may want to incorporate this theme into their school curriculums to share submissions.

The art-making workshop schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, January 9 - South Cumberland Library
Tuesday, January 16 - Washington Street Library
Tuesday, January 23 - George's Creek Library
Tuesday, January 30 - Frostburg Library
Tuesday, February 6 - LaVale Library
Tuesday, February 13 - Westernport

All workshops will run from 4:00PM-5:30PM and participants may come at any point during the workshop timeframe.

Our Theme

In consideration of the incredible folklore which surrounds Appalachia, we have selected Mysterious Mythical Creatures as this year's theme.  All mediums are accepted - we encourage students to consider music, poetry, video and other presentations to enhance the show experience.

We will also hold a Public Opening on Saturday, March 2, 2024, from 3:00PM-5:00PM. All are welcome.