Expressions 2006

May 31, 2006–June 18, 2006

WASHINGTON, DC – Showcasing the artwork and community spirit of Washington, DC students, Expressions 2006 reveals the energy, talent, and creativity of the more than 200 young people involved in the award-winning Corcoran ArtReach program. Corcoran ArtReach provides free visual arts and design education to DC youth through two component programs: Community Studios and Apprenticeship. Featuring student work from both of these components, Expressions 2006 will be on view at the Corcoran from May 31 through June 18, 2006.

“Corcoran ArtReach continues to have a tremendously positive impact on children in the greater Washington area. This celebrated exhibition showcases a vibrant display of student work and exemplifies a truly unique dialogue between The Corcoran and it’s surrounding community,” comments Laura Pasquini, Program Director for Corcoran ArtReach. “Each year, we are more and more inspired by the collaborative efforts of this program.”

Expressions 2006 features approximately 50 works by Corcoran ArtReach students who have created imaginative works inspired by visits to recent and current Corcoran exhibitions, including Warhol Legacy: Selections from The Andy Warhol Museum; Sam Gilliam: a retrospective; and Robert Bechtle: A Retrospective. The students explore such themes as family and community while celebrating the value of identity and individuality. Their artworks, which include silkscreen portraits, photography, creative writing, and a video installation, represent the creativity and diversity of our community.

This year’s exhibition also includes a portion of the large-scale mosaic mural to be installed on and near the reconstructed Nannie Helen Burroughs Bridge in Southeast DC, a project developed through a first-ever partnership with the Corcoran’s Apprenticeship program and the DC Department of Transportation. The show will present models and drawings done by students.

ABOUT CORCORAN ARTREACH
Since its inception in 1992, Corcoran ArtReach has served thousands of students. Each year, the program extends the resources of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art + Design to young people throughout Washington, DC, through two components: ArtReach Community Studios and ArtReach Apprenticeship. The Community Studios program provides free after-school studio art and creative writing instruction for DC students. All classes take place in partnership with five local community centers: Asian American LEAD, CentroNia, the Latin American Youth Center Art and Media House, The Patricia M. Sitar Center for the Arts and The Town Hall Education Arts and Recreation Campus (THEARC). ArtReach Apprenticeship offers students the chance to apprentice with professional artists, acquire advanced art skills, earn a stipend, and explore careers in public art and urban design. Over the course of the past two years, Apprenticeship students have planned, designed, and created artworks to be installed on and near the Nannie Helen Burroughs Bridge by the DC Department of Transportation. The public art project located near the entrance to Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens in Southeast DC will contribute to efforts already underway to revive this section of the Watts Branch corridor, the longest municipal park in DC.

Corcoran ArtReach has won national recognition for its work with young people in DC and has received awards from the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, and The National Multicultural Institute.

EXHIBITION ORGANIZATION AND SPONSORSHIP
Corcoran ArtReach extends special thanks to the DC Department of Transportation and The Herb Block Foundation for their extraordinary generosity in helping ArtReach serve more than 200 DC youth this year.

Additional essential support has been provided by the following patrons: AMERIGROUP Foundation; Susan Spicer Angell; Virginia Wellington Cabot Foundation; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Capital One; The DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities; Lois & Richard England Family Foundation; Freddie Mac; The Mark and Carol Hyman Fund; The Mary and Daniel Loughran Foundation; The Morningstar Foundation; The Palmer Foundation; StorageTek Foundation; Weissberg Foundation; and two anonymous donors.

In addition, the Corcoran would like to recognize and thank its community partners and in-kind contributors: Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens and Friendship Edison Public Charter School.

ABOUT THE CORCORAN GALLERY OF ART
A privately funded institution incorporating both a museum and college of art and design, the Corcoran Gallery of Art was founded in 1869 as Washington’s first museum of art. It is one of America’s oldest art institutions, predating both New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and is known internationally for its distinguished collection of historical and modern American art as well as European painting, sculpture, photography and decorative arts.

Founded in 1890, the Corcoran College of Art + Design is Washington’s only four-year college of art and design, offers a four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree program in Fine Art (painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics and digital art), Graphic Design, Digital Media Design, Photography and Photojournalism; a five-year Bachelor of Fine Arts/Master of Arts in Teaching (BFA/MAT)degree program; a two-year Associate of Fine Arts (AFA) degree program in Fine Art, Photography, Graphic Design, Interior Design and Digital Media Design; a two-year Master of Arts (MA) degree program in Interior Design and the History of Decorative Arts; and a Continuing Education program encompassing more than 250 courses and 14 certificate programs aimed at meeting the needs of part-time adult students, as well as year-round classes designed especially for children and teens. The Continuing Education program, which offers part-time credit and non-credit classes for children and adults, draws more than 3,200 participants each year.

The Corcoran Gallery of Art is located at New York Avenue and 17th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. and is open Wednesdays – Sundays from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and until 9 p.m. on Thursdays. The museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, but open on holiday Mondays. Admission to the Corcoran is: $8.00 for adults; $6.00 for senior citizens and U.S. military personnel; $4 for students with current ID and $3 for Member guests. Admission is always free for Members and children under 12. Admission is “pay as you wish” on Thursdays after 5 p.m. For information about the museum, call (202) 639-1700. For information about the college, call (202) 639-1800.

:: View images and further details from this exhibition

CONTACT:
Kristin Guiter
Manager of Media Relations
(202) 639-1867,
kguiter@corcoran.org

Media Resources:

Advance Exhibition Schedule

Archived Press Releases