Most of us know that art is important for children. But beyond why it is important for them to create art it is just vital to expose children to famous artists.
Art connects us all. It can take us through history, introduce us to other cultures, the world around us, and to ourselves. Therefore the more a child is exposed to the arts, the more techniques they are aware of, the more they can problem solve to think critically, the more they can creatively express themselves, the more accepting they are, and the more beauty they can see in the world around them. Art is one of the fudamental components of what makes us ALL uniquely human.
To kick off Black History Month learning about Kehinde Wiley the African-American painter is a great way to invite children to become familiar with his art. He is best known for portraits that feature African Americans in the traditional settings of old paintings with naturalistic brightly colored flowery backgrounds.
To set this invitation you can print out images of his paintings, laminate it, provide wood cut outs/fake grass squares, and whole bunch of loose parts (pom poms, translucent shapes, rhinestones, bright buttons, and flat marbles) in tinker trays. The child can create frames to adorn the paintings with the open ended materials. While they create this, a perfect opportunity to open a discussion about their observations of the paintings and talk about the artist.
