Stevens students’ artwork on display at Whitworth

The impact an encampment of homeless people had on Stevens Elementary School students can be seen in an exhibit of their art which is on public display through Friday in the Whitworth University art gallery.

For months the encampment was just a block away from Stevens, which, with 92 percent of its student population enrolled in the free or reduced-price lunch program, is among the poorest schools in the state.

Yet Stevens is the only school in Spokane with a university partnership that fosters the visual arts, culminating in a one-of-a-kind student exhibit. Works created by fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students include clay masks, silk-screen self-portraits a la Andy Warhol, Talavera-style tiles, abstract oil pastels, and a display of the homeless encampment in its forlornness. The exhibit opened with a reception on April 15. Two winners will be chosen to receive $25award from the university, and their works will be purchased and displayed at the university.

Project coordinator Anne Handler said people should see for themselves what art can do to empower young minds.

“It is a matter of community pride,” she said.