By Leslie Anne Condon, Visual Arts Program Manager

On Monday, December 19th, Pao Arts Center launched the opening of its winter exhibition, Under the Oak Tree: Red Oak Winter Showcase, organized in partnership with Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC)’s Red Oak Program, an out of school time childcare for children ages 5 to 13 during both the school year and summer. The multilingual family event featured dancing and musical performances on piano and guitar by Red Oak students, with the support of Red Oak arts specialists who oversee the program year-round. Afterward, families were invited to view the different student projects, including papier-mâché sculptures and a paper dragon assemblage, currently on view at the Pao Arts Center gallery.

“At Red Oak we believe that artistic expression is important for children and adults alike. It is a building block for individual and communal wellbeing. For this reason, it is a special thing for our kids to present their work at Pao Arts Center: it shows that you don’t need to be a professional artist to contribute something to the culture. Kids’ artistic voices have value.”

— Harry Lee-Rubin, Director of Red Oak After School and Summer Program

“They have the creative freedom in [music production] to make their own songs...The production aspect is something new, something they can make their own.”

— Tanvi Das, Red Oak Group Leader

“I really like to see all the ideas they have when I put something in front of them that they weren’t familiar with, and it was so much fun to watch them work. All of the collaboration that was happening – it was exciting to watch them all get excited about the process.”

— Liam Prendergast, Red Oak Art Specialist

“I’m so proud of my students. We had so much fun together up there.”

— Emma Trowbridge, Red Oak Art Specialist

Come check out Under the Oak Tree: Red Oak Winter Showcase, featuring art projects by BCNC’s Red Oak after school students, on view at Pao Arts Center until Saturday, February 25th.