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Visual artist and arts educator Katy Martin approaches the arts as a subject more defined by the journey than the destination. In that way, art differs from many other academic subjects which lend themself well to numeric grading. Martin focuses on the intention and effort of the students to approach their projects in a thoughtful way, and their attempts to develop their skills through practice and revision.

Rrain Prior – Local Journalism Initiative

That’s not to say that the students are not evaluated, but that the evaluation has more to do with what the students put into the class than the objective quality of the art that is produced.

But the role of visual arts goes far beyond the classroom for Martin. She has been working with students both in her classes and in the school at large to produce public art throughout the community, starting with an annual mural project four years ago and developing that into a group of students who go out into the community to beautify spaces, including things like empty storefronts. Martin herself has been a collaborator on some of the community’s most prominent art pieces, and Neepawa continues to develop as a place to see public art on display.

In some academic spaces, visual arts is still seen as something that students do on the side, or just as an extra-curricular activity. Martin, as a practising artist herself, ensures that students get a grounding in the business side of art as well. It’s her hope that at some point she can develop a class around not just giving students a grounding in several arts disciplines but allowing them to develop their specific artistic interests along a more in-depth look at building a business around your art. For some students, the arts are their career goal and not just a hobby.

Martin and her students also collaborate on in-school projects, including the upcoming bi-annual theatre production, where they produce props and sets for the show. The other side of the production is, of course, the performing arts program in the school, which we will be visiting in our next episode of Schooled!