Through the month of July, the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana will be home to artwork designed by student artists with disabilities from the Orange County area.
Created in partnership with the Orange County Department of Education’s OC Arts and Disability, this exhibit was curated as part of the nonprofit’s regional traveling art show known as Arts on the Move. The organization aims to honor creativity, diversity and the potential of the human spirit through the community display.
With close to 80 different creations, pieces by students and adult artists will be showcased from July 12 to July 27 in recognition of Disability Pride Month. The gallery, which is free to the public, will also highlight pieces featuring the American Sign Language and Braille alphabets to encourage education surrounding diverse communication methods.
The museum will host an opening reception on July 16 for the artists to celebrate their compositions with their families and teachers. One of the exhibit’s featured images will be a piece called “The Adventure Starts Here” from Edison High School student Bryan Ha, which was chosen as the themed artwork for the OC Arts and Disability Festival in April.
“We are grateful to Bowers Museum for the opportunity to showcase artists with disabilities and for bringing awareness to our community, especially during Disability Pride Month,” said Marleena Barber, director of Orange County Arts and Disability.
“It means a lot to the artists and their families to be celebrated in a nationally acclaimed museum. Bowers Museum is showing that it values diversity and recognizes that the arts are for all people to participate in, experience and enjoy.”
Here are the other stories we’ve been following this week:
- Starting July 12, the 14th Annual Safe Schools Conference will welcome more than 500 educators and law enforcement representatives to discuss security trends and strategize how to maintain school safety while improving attendance and academic performance.
- Summer might mean time away from educational activities, but for transitional kindergarten teacher Leslee Milch, it’s quite the opposite. For the past 25 years, Milch has hauled her book bag, chair and assortment of snacks to the local park to host an summer story time for her Buena Park School District students.
- North Orange County native Carla Roque has made her mark throughout the Anaheim Elementary School District after completing mural No. 23 last month at Price Elementary as part of a state-funded mural project.
- This summer, underserved youth in South Orange County are getting the chance to come face-to-face with sea life while learning about the ocean through two-day marine excursions offered once a week by the Boys & Girls Club of Capistrano Valley.
- Sixth-graders at Pat Nixon Academy in Cerritos donated almost 1,500 toothbrushes and 300 tubes of toothpaste to low-income and unhoused families as part of a school-wide “smile drive.”
- Huntington Beach High School student Sara Freyre won her second consecutive women’s championship surfing title at the National Scholastic Surfing Association competition on July 3.
- Approximately 63 school districts in California are registered to lobby state government officials, according to a report from online publication Capitol Weekly. OCDE is among the many government entities that contracts with firms to receive updates and provide input on developing legislation and budget proposals in Sacramento.
- State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond has announced he is considering a run for Governor in 2026, according to KCRA.
- A former Orange Unified student who was reportedly expelled for alleged harassment has taken legal action against the district, claiming discrimination and due process violations, the Orange County Register reported. The district has denied the allegations.
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