Fifth-grade students in the Salazar Elementary School Art Squad gather Friday with their art piece, teachers and Education Secretary Arsenio Romero in the lobby of the PED Building in Santa Fe. Courtesy/PED
PED News:
SANTA FE — Art, science, technology, engineering and math intertwine for creative fifth-grade students in the Salazar Elementary Art Squad.
The visionary sculpture, which was carefully designed and methodically assembled, was installed at the New Mexico Public Education Department’s (PED) Jerry Apodaca Education Building Friday and will be on display through August.
“My students are remarkable young artists, and I am always trying to increase the authentic audience for their work,” teacher Anna Gibson said. “I am incredibly pleased that they will have the opportunity to show what they have done at a venue representing the heart of our educational system in New Mexico. It is the type of opportunity that I believe they deserve!”
PED Secretary Arsenio Romero welcomed the students during Friday afternoon’s event to debut the sculpture inside the building. He praised their artistic ability.
“Your sculpture shows how things you learn in school can unite into something thought-provoking and beautiful,” Secretary Romero said. “I think we have started a new tradition — having student art in the building.”
The inspiration for the Santa Fe students’ work was twofold, Gibson explained. The interlocking and transforming panels were inspired by a vintage set of Charles Eames’ House of Cards and the laser engraving and cutting by Santa Fe Public Schools’ STEAM lab development in area schools.
“We are incredibly lucky to have a dedicated lab at Salazar that includes many types of technology, including a laser cutter,” she said. “The art squad booked the lab each month to explore technology in art with the teaching and support of our school’s digital learning coach Aoife Runyan.”
Dominique Sandoval and Elizabeth Wernsing are two of the artists, both soon to be sixth graders. They helped plan and execute the laser-etched drawings that appear on the acrylic panels.
“It was really a community project,” Wernsing said. “It took a long time. Having the finished piece here is kind of cool.”
The art squad is an SFPS pilot program that provides advanced instruction and opportunities for art at higher levels, with students selected through a standardized drawing test, teacher observations and self-nominations. They participate in learning and creation during and after the school day. Salazar Principal Alyssa Maestas and district arts coordinator Cristina Gonzalez support the project.
“Our research leader Steve Heil was concerned with the issue of our incredibly talented students dropping out of art-related pathways as they moved through their time in the schools,” Gibson said, adding that it allowed for participation by students of diverse backgrounds.
Heil now works at PED as a policy analyst.
“Equity work knows no bounds; art is one of the many subjects where privilege leads to opportunity,” he said. “But Anna’s dedication to developing her students’ identity, agency, culture and talent is also limitless. I’d like to see more of a statewide effort to stop leaks in the artist pipeline.”
The public may view the sculpture at 300 Don Gaspar Ave. in Santa Fe during business hours.