New art is coming to Opportunity School

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) — Many homes and businesses use paintings or hang other artwork to decorate walls and beautify areas.

A new art collection in Amarillo will not only decorate the spaces, but also enhance student learning on the new Opportunity School campus.

When it comes to painting, all the artists in the community have stepped up this week to lend a crafty helping hand.

“We had a really good opportunity to partner with Opportunity School and basically they wanted some new art for their new building and we kind of wanted to do something a little more fun for the kids” , said Amarillo. said Rachel Flores, executive director of the Art Institute.

Opportunity School Program Quality Specialist Lesley Webb said Opportunity School is an early years program for children up to age five. Their mission is to also serve families.

Opportunity School expanded this year and opened a new campus.

“Our new campus, we’ll be able to serve 120 when we’re able to open all of our classrooms,” Webb said.

A new building means lots of new space and lots of bare walls that need to be decorated. The artists were excited to get started.

“We just said ‘this is set in a kindergarten, so we want it to be kid-friendly, we want it to be something that a child would find fun to watch or interesting,'” Flores said. So decided to create a gallery that kids can actually touch. It will be at their level.”

Opportunity School Family Services Coordinator Monica Hernandez said she wants families to also see the paintings when they enter the school.

“Kids love art, they love colors, and they love textures, but that’s also how they learn,” Webb said. “So when they’re able to touch an image or they’re able to talk about something that’s real in the image, which reinforces their language skills, it reinforces their creative interests and desires.”

Flores added how important it is for children.

“A lot of children who are served by Opportunity School, this may be their first if not their only experience of art, so we want to make it positive and show them that art can be a positive play and nurturing that we bring into their lives,” Flores said.

Webb shared what she hopes for this opportunity.

“So we’re really thrilled that we were able to partner with Amarillo Art Institute to make some great artwork for us. We have a new building, so we really wanted a few pieces that we could put throughout our building,” Webb said.

As students walk the halls, they will have the opportunity to enjoy artworks made with the heart just for them in their school.

It’s good news.

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