Portland Press Herald: Scarborough students have artwork featured at Portland Museum of Art

The Portland Museum of Art continues its annual tradition of Youth Art Month, and Scarborough students comment on their experience having artwork displayed.

March 25, 2025
by Dakota Doyle

Originally posted in Portland Herald, read it here

Starting in February and running to March 30, the Portland Museum of Art has been holding their yearly exhibition celebrating Youth Art Month.

The exhibit, in collaboration with the Maine Art Education Association, allows students to see their art in the museum. The goal for the exhibit is to advocate and support youth art all year long, catalyzed by Youth Art Month. 

“It’s important for (students) to see themselves as artists,” said MAEA Youth Art Month Chair and Coordinator Elise Pelletier. The exhibit allows them to “convey their voice, their skill, their passion,” she said, and “know that their creativity and visual ideas are important.” 

She noted that professional painter Holden Willard was featured in the event in 2015 as a sophomore in high school, and is currently in the “As We Are” exhibit. In an interview, he said, “It was at that moment during Youth Art Month that I knew I was an artist.”

Scarborough High School sophomore Taylor Libby has an oil pastel drawing titled “Portrait of Asher Jarvis” on display via teacher Erin Landry-Fowler. Junior Grace Mike has an acrylic collage painting on display via teacher Olivia Shea. 

Libby said that what she “loves about art is the individuality of each piece,” adding that it is “inspiring being able to see something that I made in an art museum.”

There are also two artworks, one being a pen and ink drawing and the other being clay, also displayed at the exhibit. Both are from Scarborough second graders who attend Pleasant Hill Primary School and Blue Point Primary School. 

The students had an opportunity to see their artwork together on March 15 at the Youth Art Month Celebration Reception. 

To continue the celebration of Youth Art Month the museum held performances from many young artists from Maine Academy of Modern Music on March. Scarborough High School student Mazie Keener, who sang with her guitar, said the experience was “meaningful” with “younger artists” and “beautiful in terms of people supporting each other.”

The exhibit can be found on the lower level of the museum until March 30, and the 2025 Digital Gallery can be found on the Portland Museum of Art website, portlandmuseum.org.

Dakota Doyle is a student at Scarborough High School. This article was submitted as part of the school’s Extended Learning Opportunity program.