Art Students Commissioned by Todd Hunter
Meredith Gayanilo, Staff Writer
May 12, 2023
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Santiago Chiang and Madison Gianotti working on their artwork
Two Flour Bluff art students, juniors Santiago Chiang and Madison Gianotti, were commissioned by the Texas Art Education Campaign (TAEC) to create a work of art for state representative Todd Hunter to support House Bill 3829 and Senate Bill 2084 creating a Fine Arts Allotment under the Public School Finance System on April 17th.
“This was originally supposed to be a competition,” Gianotti said. “but then our art teacher (Valerie) Lichtenberger wanted us to collaborate and do it together.”
The bills created a Fine Arts Allotment under the Public School Finance System, and the students were given two weeks before TAEC’s first Capitol Summit event.
“We had a very short amount of time to create the art,” Lichtenberger said. “But the piece turned out to incorporate a lot of Todd Hunter’s initiatives that affect our coastal community.”
The artwork was about all of Hunter’s bills that he accomplished with oysters, culture, and the new harbor bridge in progress. Bill 3829 would give all the fine arts the same funding as sports.
“We felt really honored that we were picked to represent not just our school and our region, but all of Texas, and we were the only ones who gave a representative piece,” Gianotti said.
The fine arts programs in schools give the opportunity for students to work with one another to create deep and meaningful pieces.
“Art is a getaway from anything to me if I’m feeling down,” Chiang said. “I start to draw and it makes me happy, and I could say the same for other kids.”
This experience was unlike any other. The campaign also had a legislative session allowing the group to go to the offices and talk to the people who work on the bills that affect the state of Texas.
“Those two spoke loud and clear on behalf of the fine arts students not just in our community but all across Texas,” Lichtenberger said. “I’m super proud of my kids.”
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