Richland schools receive grants for art installations

Four Richland elementary schools will receive at total of more than $200,000 to install public art on their grounds.

Grants for the art installations were provided by the Washington State Arts Commission. Sacajawea and Marcus Whitman elementary schools will each receive $65,000, while Lewis & Clark and Orchard elementary schools were each given $55,000.

Each school’s principal said receiving a piece of art would go far in advancing their school’s education mission.

Eight other Richland schools have public art displays, such as the stainless steel sculpture in the courtyard at Richland High School and the flower and mosaic tiles on the front of Jason Lee Elementary School.

Grants from the commission are paid from the state’s capital projects budget. Specifically, the state budgets 0.5 percent of its allocation to build a school to buy artwork.

The four schools, all of which are in new buildings or have new buildings under construction, applied for the art grants this fall. Assistant Superintendent Mike Hansen said he was pleased with the amount of money each school received, which is about double what the last Richland school was provided for a public art piece.

Sacajawea Principal Jim Bruce noted in his grant application that roughly half of his students live in poverty, and that studies and reports show that students from low-income families are more likely to take advanced courses such as calculus if they were exposed to the arts and are more likely to pursue higher education than students in similar circumstances who have little or no access to the arts.

Principals from most of the schools said they wanted a piece that could tie into STEAM education, which is focused on science, technology, engineering, math and the arts. The presence of art in schools also can inspire students to look into new ideas or experiences while tying the school to its legacy and the community.

Each school also plans to make the new artwork part of their school’s curriculum, from following the artist who is commissioned for the project through to a piece’s installation at the school to having students look at the artist’s past work and having the artist visit the school to meet with students and the community.

Hansen said it will be up to committees of parents, teachers and community members at each school to guide the selection of artists and what will be ultimately installed at each school. It was unclear how long that process could take.

This story was originally published November 28, 2015 at 8:49 PM with the headline "Richland schools receive grants for art installations."