7th Annual K-8 Student Art Exhibition “Creativity Unbound” Opens at USU’s Sorenson Center

Utah State University’s Arts Are Core, a program of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Endowed Program for Elementary Arts Education, is sponsoring its annual Creativity Unbound Student Art Exhibition. Now in its seventh year, the exhibit showcases student creativity, artistic expression, and arts-integrated learning from elementary and middle school classes across northern Utah. The exhibit will be open to the public until March 20.

Hosted at the Lyndsley Wilkerson Gallery in the Sorenson Center for Clinical Excellence on USU’s Logan campus, Creativity Unbound is a collection of works by student artists in Logan, Rich, Box Elder, Cache County school districts as well as local charter schools. This year, more than 300 works of art from 20 schools, multiple school districts, and charter schools are being showcased.

“Creativity Unbound is one of my favorite community engagement events of the year,” said Aurora Villa, director of Arts Are Core in the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services and endowed director of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Endowed Program for Elementary Arts Education at USU. “I enjoy talking to the students at the art opening and hearing them reflect on their ideas, processes, successes, and personal meaning behind their artwork. Speaking about their artwork helps them recognize their own creative voice. The art opening is such a memorable moment where learning, creativity, and community come together!”

The exhibit provides local K-8 students and teachers an opportunity to display creative work from the classroom in a professional gallery that honors their work as an effective path to learning. The importance of the accomplishments and hard work of our teachers and students cannot be overstated. The arts give children a voice, and displaying their work allows the community to hear what they have to say. Each student brings a special lens through which they see the world, which results in a rich tapestry of diverse artwork.

Additionally, arts integration is a strong component of every Creativity Unbound exhibit. “Several of the artworks in this exhibition explore science, math, language arts, and social studies concepts through visual art,” explained Villa. “Students might use drawing to study life cycles and habitats, sculpture to explore form and structure, or visual storytelling to explain a concept they’ve learned. Each method helps students make meaningful connections and deepen learning.” 

The Creativity Unbound exhibition is free of charge and open to the public until March 20. For more information, visit the Arts Are Core or the Sorenson Center's website.