“Identity” A collage created by local teen artists has become part of the permanent art collection at the Eastern Branch Library in Shrewsbury.
The collage of 12 canvases individually painted and lettered, and titled “Identity,” has been on display for the enjoyment and delight of library patrons for most of the past year. The Eastern Branch will now have the artwork on permanent display.
The Monmouth County Library Commission announced the acquisition of the collage, which was created during the Monmouth County Arts Council’s 2012 Teen Arts Festival.
“The library as a community anchor, a gathering place to sharpen our educational experience and a platform for creativity, is acquiring ‘Identity,’ an artwork created by Monmouth County teen artists that speaks of joy, of youth, of energy and of imagination,” said Renee B. Swartz, chair of the library commission.
The annual festival, held in collaboration with Brookdale Community College, provides a forum for emerging teen artists of all disciplines to come together in a creative environment of workshops, classes, performances, evaluations and fun. In 2012, close to 1,900 teens registered to participate in the festival. Each year, a theme is presented to the teen artists to explore in an art installation project that is created during the two-day festival. “Our artistic high-school students come from almost 30 schools from around the county, from Allentown to Keyport and in between, and work together on each year’s themed installation piece,” said Sandy Taylor, arts education director for the arts council. “It has been a very fulfilling process, one that the students, teachers and the community have enjoyed immensely.”
The theme for 2012 was “Identity,” a theme open to many interpretations, which gave teen artists a direction for inquiry, exploration, inspiration and discussion, according to Taylor.
With the guidance of an artist facilitator, the teens painted canvases in six sessions during the two festival days. Their collaboration created a mixture of butterflies, inspiring words and portraits that together expressed their individual and group concept of “identity”. One of the guiding phrases was “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.”
The 2013 Teen Arts Festival will be held on March 21 and 22 at Brookdale. Since 2009, the Monmouth County library has displayed the teens’ themed installation projects from the annual festivals throughout its branch libraries. “Identity” will continue to be displayed in the main reading area of the Eastern Branch at 1001 Route 35, Shrewsbury.