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ArtStart Sponsors Children’s Activities Area for Second Year

According to an old Japanese Shinto belief, all objects have spirits, and those that are thrown away weep at night inside the trash bin.

Those items, then, must rejoice when they’re donated to the ArtStart ArtScraps Creative Materials Reuse Store, 1459 St. Clair Ave., St. Paul, knowing they will have a chance at a second (or third) life.  

Since its inception, businesses, manufacturers, corporations, and individuals have been donating scraps and materials to ArtScraps, an award-winning nonprofit arts organization dedicated to providing quality arts education to kids and adults. Those items—everything from nontoxic, clean scraps to beads, fabric, ribbons, buttons, and string to paper of all kinds, colors, and sizes (the full list can be found here: artstart.org/material-donations)—are then reused by a number of organizations, including Head Start programs, child care associations, daycare providers, social service organizations, schools, neighborhoods, and arts organizations.

At the Living Green Expo, kids will have a chance to incorporate art materials from the ArtScraps store while creating unique pieces of take-home artwork (just in time for Mother’s Day). There will also be lively musical and dance performances by artists and culturally diverse groups throughout the event. This is the second year ArtScraps has sponsored the Children’s Activities Area at the Expo.  

“The Living Green Expo is one of the premier educational events in the nation,” says ArtStart Executive Director Carol Sirrine. “The planning that goes into this event to ensure both the environmental and creative integrity of the presenters is exemplary. I appreciate that the Expo is designed to reach those who are not only new to sustainable living, but also those who are looking to deepen their understanding or investment in living green.”

The health and sustainability of our planet depends on teaching future generations to understand and appreciate our natural resources. One way to do this is through showing the connection between art and the environment, in all its beauty, complexity, and fragility.  

“I applaud the Living Green Expo for having the vision to promote the arts as an essential element of sustainable living,” Carol says. “It is a privilege to be part of this event.”

For more information, visit artstart.org.
 

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