Portsmouth Herald Maine News, NH
Jan 29 2005
A first for kids, gallery alike
By Elizabeth Kenny
ekenny@seacoastonline.com
KITTERY, Maine – Inside the Haley Farm Gallery, between the room’s
exposed beams, a different form of artwork hangs on display.
It’s the first exhibit at the new gallery, and for many of the
artists, it is the first time their paintings have ever been made
available to the public – aside from their parent’s refrigerators.
Paintings from Frisbee Elementary School students were the first
pieces of art ever hung at the new gallery located at 178 Haley Road.
Beginning Saturday, Feb. 5, Mitchell Primary School students’ artwork
will be on display for public viewing.
The exhibit is called “A Child’s View.”
Gallery co-owner Jackie Abramian has two children in the schools;
their talent in art became the inspiration for the gallery’s first
exhibit to be focused around children, she said.
“We wanted to bring something to the community where kids’ artwork
can be displayed,” she said. “It’s a delight for kids to walk in the
door and see their work hanging up.”
The work ranges from students’ own rendition of Pablo Picasso’s work
to paper tissue snowflakes.
The future goal, Abramian said, is to allow the students to sell
their work to help fund the Parent Teacher Association in town.
By selling their work, even if they are only in first grade, it will
give them a better understanding of what it is like to be a real
artist, Abramian said.
According to Mitchell School Principal David Foster, students are not
disappointed that their work isn’t for sale yet; they are just
excited to see it on display.
“The kids are thrilled to pieces,” he said. “Art should be more than
just once a week, and it’s great to have kids’ self-esteem pumped.”
“It helps highlight our art program,” said Frisbee Principal Greg
Knight. “It shows how valuable art is in the learning process. I felt
honored we were asked to be the very first art show in this gallery.”
Abramian and her husband, Harout DerSimonian, who is co-owner of the
gallery, said they recently moved to Kittery with the intent to open
the gallery and worldly gift shop.
The couple decided to open the gallery daily in the afternoons, to
allow parents and their children to stop by after school, DerSimonian
said.
“The work is fantastic,” Abramian said Friday, standing alongside the
vibrant colors painted by the children. “The gallery really came to
life.”
Although the first two exhibits display the artwork of children, by
March, the gallery will expand to showcase “adult” artwork as well,
Abramian said.
In March, the work of Berj Kailian and Samuel Bak, two Boston-based
artists, will be displayed. The exhibit will be called “Survival
Through Creativity.”
Both artists, Abramian said, have used their art skills to tell their
own stories of survival. One of the painters survived the Jewish
Holocaust; the other is a survivor of the Armenian genocide, Abramian
said.
The opening reception for Mitchell Primary School artwork is on
Saturday, Feb. 5, from 3 to 5 p.m.