A new exhibit at the Huntington Beach Art Center is giving students with disabilities an opportunity to explore their creativity while stepping into the role of art curators.
Through a partnership with Orange County Arts and Disability, an arts organization that works in partnership with the Orange County Department of Education, students from Edison High School’s Special Abilities Cluster program have helped bring life to the “OC Arts and Disability: Arts on the Move Stamped!” exhibit.
The Daily Pilot reported that students and families gathered with educators for the exhibit’s opening reception on Saturday, Nov. 7, where the students shared about the experience and reflected on their creative process during a panel.
With guidance from Edison High activities director Autumn Garcia, students worked alongside local participants in the Wednesday evening art lessons Garcia teaches with her mother at the Huntington Beach Art Center. Together, they learned about the exhibit curation process and developed their own theme before selecting artwork that reflected their concept.
Garcia, who received an award earlier this year for her arts education work at the annual OC Music and Arts Administrator Awards, said the experience gave students an opportunity to learn what it takes to bring an exhibition together.
“I’ve never done this before, and I think sharing that experience is even more fulfilling for me,” Garcia said. “I’m already excited about it, but to see them get in here and curate the exhibit, it’s cool. I think we’re breaking those barriers. Who would have ever thought that our students were curating for a museum?”
After settling on postage stamps as their central theme, the students collaborated with Orange County Arts and Disability Executive Director Marleena Barber to select pieces originally featured at the 50th annual Orange County Arts and Disability Festival, presented in partnership with OCDE.
The Arts on the Move Stamped! exhibit, curated by Arts for All HB students, will remain on display through Dec. 19 at the Huntington Beach Art Center with free admission.
Here are the other stories we’ve been following this week:
- OCDE and the County of Orange Social Services Agency have teamed up on a new video encouraging county residents to become resource parents and provide safe, stable homes for local youth, given the more than 2,000 children and youth currently in the region’s foster care system.
- On Thursday, Outlook email services were disrupted for businesses, educational organizations and public agencies nationwide, leaving employees unable to send or receive messages as Microsoft worked to restore access.
- At the third annual Student AI Convening on Nov. 6, about 100 students came together to share their strategies for responsible uses of technology while leading workshops and displaying their student-developed innovations.
- On the latest episode of OCDE’s FutureCurrent podcast, educator Dr. Christine Olmstead joins Orange County Superintendent Dr. Stefan Bean to discuss California’s efforts to redesign middle and high schools through stronger student relationships, deeper learning and more personalized instruction.
- Orange County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Stefan Bean recently gave a keynote address at the 62nd annual Gourmet Dinner for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of OC and the Inland Empire, which raised $1.3 million in support of the organization’s mentorship of students and youth in need across the Southern California region.
- Across the Los Alamitos Unified School District, students honored veterans and military families through school celebrations, performances and tributes to relatives, reflecting the district’s close ties to the local military community.
- The Fullerton School District’s Nutrition Services Department earned a three-year Silver Tier certification from the nonprofit Eat Real for its efforts to provide students with nutritious meals made with locally sourced produce and whole foods across the district’s 20 schools.
- Cal State Fullerton recently highlighted Raymond Garcia, an intern at OCDE’s ACCESS program and a former U.S. Marine, who is continuing his commitment to service by studying in the university’s Master of Social Work program and through his work supporting veterans and students at the CSUF Veterans Resource Center.
- Huntington Beach High School junior Rebecca VanPeteghen added another milestone to her running career, capturing her first individual cross-country title at the Sunset League finals with a winning time of 17:24.8.
- The Orange County Register reported that a former Anaheim Union High School District student of Palestinian descent has filed a lawsuit after a high school teacher made an alleged discriminatory remark.
- EdSource reported that the California Department of Education has encouraged schools to incorporate artificial intelligence into classrooms responsibly while prioritizing student privacy, access and critical thinking following a recent summit hosted by the department.
This is the part where we encourage you to keep up with local education news stories by bookmarking the OCDE Newsroom, subscribing for emailed updates and following us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.
