Students from Lakeland Preparatory School and Lakeland Middle Preparatory School are showcasing their creativity through a new art installation celebrating the culture, history and character of Memphis.
Students in grades 5 through 12 created artwork inspired by the theme of Memphis as part of a partnership with the Renasant Convention Center. According to Rachel Stricklin Nanney, an arts teacher at Lakeland Prep, students worked in a variety of mediums, including collage, paint and clay, with each grade focusing on a specific theme.
The projects encouraged students to explore the places, people, history and establishments that help define Memphis while also considering their own personal connections to the city.
The partnership provides students with an opportunity to have their work displayed in a public setting, giving them a glimpse of what it is like to have their work exhibited as professional artists.
“We are lucky to have been chosen by the Renasant Convention Center as the school that they wanted to pursue this partnership with,” Nanney said.
The collaboration is expected to continue in the years ahead, with the student art installation rotating themes and artwork each year. That will allow future Lakeland students to participate and have their work displayed as part of the ongoing partnership.
For the students, the project is more than an art assignment. It gives them an opportunity to celebrate Memphis through their own perspective while seeing their creations become part of a public space in the city they chose to highlight.
