Attendees at the 2022 Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts were treated to a new, vibrant display of work created by a group of students previously not represented at the event – migrant youth.
During the months leading up to the festival, 26 elementary school students enrolled in Clackamas ESD’s migrant education program had the opportunity to participate in series of art workshops, thanks to a new partnership with the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts and its youth outreach program. The after-school workshops were bilingual and taught by professional artists, and the resulting student artwork was displayed in the youth art exhibition at the June 2022 festival.
The outreach to migrant students was the brainchild of Angie Stambuk, a retired pediatrician who has volunteered at the Lakewood Center for several years.
“During COVID, most of our students had interruptions in their education as well as in after-school activities, so we were excited when Angie approached us about an arts partnership,” said Norma Alba-Ski, a program specialist in the migrant education program. “Angie and her team recognized the need and importance of creating a more diverse and inclusive environment for artists, students and festival-goers, and we are so excited to work with the festival team to help them implement these goals.”
Angie has years of experience working with migrant families, and noticed a hole in service when she started getting involved in activities at the Lakewood Center. She volunteered to start the festival’s Youth Outreach Program in 2018.
“The goal of the program is to bring people from other communities to the festival and support more underserved populations,” said Angie. “The migrant education program is a perfect fit. I love the meaningful work with our migrant families.”
During their workshops, students learned about and practiced different forms of art, including sculpture and 3D creations. In addition to having their work displayed at the festival, several students and their families took part in an awards reception for artists and their families on the last day of the event. One of the participating students, America Mendoza, won first prize in the festival’s elementary school “Loudest Work of Art” category for her bird creation titled “Alejandro.”
“Having our migrant students and families participate brought a completely different tone to the festival,” Angie said. “The migrant families who came to the reception had a blast, and it was heartwarming to see diverse families sitting at tables and communicating with each other.”
In addition to serving elementary students in Clackamas ESD’s migrant education program, the festival’s youth outreach program delivered an online bilingual workshop in abstract painting to migrant preschool children and their families. The youth outreach team also partnered in 2022 with teachers and students at Molalla River Middle School and Kraxberger Middle School in Gladstone to provide art workshops.
“The project has been expanding every year,” Angie said. “My goal is to have it operating year-round.”
