Educators: Barb Simcoe, Artist Mentor; Matthew Jones, Artist Mentor

Location: Omaha, NE

Tom White, 11th Grade
Picardigras, 2014
Mixed Media

Alta Norviel, 12th Grade
Trek, 2014
Oil on canvas

Shyann VanGerpen, 12th Grade
Desolation in Mute, 2014
Acrylic on Wood

The Joslyn Art Museum's Kent Bellows Mentoring Program is a life-changing experience for many teens. Currently, students are enrolled from over 25 area high schools, creating an inclusive community of like-minded, creative individuals. Since 2009, the program has held 35 public exhibitions featuring over 2,000 artworks and has completed 30 public murals. Under the guidance of professional artist mentors, teens undertake a variety of self-directed projects as they develop their artistic voice in a community studio context while building relationships with their peers. Each artwork created at the Joslyn's Kent Bellows Studio is unique and represents the artist's individual style. One student stated, “I feel like I have become much more open-minded and conceptual in all aspects of my life!”