Pinellas County elementary students show off skills in annual exhibit at Dunedin Fine Art Center

Shining a light on talented kids

FOX 13 Photojournalist Barry Wong highlights Creative stART, an annual art exhibit that highlights the work of Pinellas County elementary school students.

DUNEDIN, Fla. - An annual art exhibit, Creative stART, highlights the work of Pinellas County elementary school students.

"Never gets old. It's always fun," Dunedin Fine Art Center Youth Education Director Shannon Pattee said. "When we are installing the show, we always get excited."

The Dunedin Fine Art Center partners with Pinellas County Schools for four exhibitions a year. The current gallery highlights schools starting with A-M. The gallery switches over to N-Z in mid-December.

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"We want them to know that they are unique and that their imagination and creativity are celebrated," Pattee explained.

The gallery features artwork from students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Art teachers send over pieces from students in kindergarten to fifth grade to be judged, with the top 72 earning a spot in the gallery. Awards are given out for top work.

"They are just so excited to see their piece," Pattee shared. "It just gives them a real sense of celebration, a good sense of self."

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The gallery holds special meaning to the staff at the center, which currently has instructors who had pieces in the exhibition years ago.

Awards are given out for the top pieces of art.

The students' artwork is displayed in an exhibit at the Dunedin Fine Art Center.

"They've gone on to come with us for summer camp. They started volunteering. They've gone off to college and now they teach with us, so you can actually open up avenues that they can just continue on with," Pattee said.

Pattee and the staff hope this annual gallery help highlight the need for and importance of art programs in school.

"It's extremely important to have a well-rounded child, and this is part of that, to use that part of the brain, the critical part of their brain," Pattee said.

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