“The kids are really excited.” Collaborative elementary schools art project to be unveiled this weekend

While the weather has been unseasonably frightful, students from Willow Elementary, Talkeetna Elementary, and Trapper Creek Elementary schools have been hard at work on something truly delightful.

Students from Trapper Creek Elementary, Willow Elementary, and Talkeetna Elementary have been collaborating on a mural painting and writing a collaborative song, which will all be unveiled this Sunday, May 7 at Su Valley Junior-Senior High in Talkeetna.

“The students from these 3 schools often come together after elementary school is over, and they don’t always co-mingle easily with the different students. They don’t know them and sometimes have pre-conceived stereotypes,” says Michelle Crow of the Denali Arts Council, a sponsor of the project.

“That thought born into this idea to have them coming together, doing something creative, and connecting with the community,” she said.

The project, sponsored by the Denali Arts Council, with the support of the Willow Elementary PTA, Su-Valley PTSA, the Willow Library & Community Center, Denali Education Center, the Alaska State Council on the Arts, and Art We There Yet, a project to create art and music inspired by the Americas, whose mission is to celebrate shared humanity and give back to communities along the way. Using a school bus converted into an art and recording studio, Art We There Yet has traveled over 30,000 miles across 23 countries of North, Central, and South America. Their latest stop has been here in the upper Susitna Valley.

“The idea to connect kids with community art has been a long time coming, and it was truly serendipitous to meet the artists behind the project,” Crow said of meeting the artists from Art We There Yet, adding, “They are 100% the heart behind this. It’s so incredible what they’ve done. We feel fortunate to have them with us.”

The mural is divided into 3 panels, each one featuring the different schools’ mascots, and rather than painting their own mascot, students have painted the mural of a different school and will be gifting it forward to that school.

If that weren’t enough, the students have also been writing a song in tandem, with each group writing a different section of the collaborative song.

“Trapper Creek learned and then created the chords, Willow had the lyrics, and Talkeenta did the melodies. Now the students are learning all the other parts ahead of their performance,” said Crow.

The 3 mural sections will come together for a special, one-time-only Great Reveal on May 7 at Su-Valley High School. There will also be a spaghetti feed, with delicious sauce generously donated by the Talkeetna Roadhouse. The song will also have its debut that evening.

After that, the panels will separate and go to the three schools, all part of a symbol of unity across the district.

“The kids are excited, and they are so proud to show what they have created.”

The project unveiling takes place Sunday, May 7 at the Su Valley Junior/Senior High School at 4:00 p.m. The spaghetti feed is free, but donations are gladly accepted. For more information, visit www.denaliartscouncil.org