New Leadership Brings Triumphant Return of Richmond NAP Exhibit
The NAP was pleased to welcome Richmond, Virginia back in 2017 for their fifteenth exhibition at Pine Camp and Community Arts Center. Under fresh leadership from new coordinators Ann-Marie Williams and Shaunn Casselle, this year’s program was a tremendous success! The exhibit featured close to 250 pieces of art from City of Richmond and Richmond Public School employees and their family members.
This huge accomplishment can only be attributed to Ann-Marie and Shaunn’s passion for the program. Both truly value the opportunity the NAP brings to their community. Shaunn stated, “I felt so proud to display artwork that made Ann-Marie and I shine as Richmond Coordinators! I loved working with so many talented artists!” An enthusiasm that could be felt by everyone involved including the Mayor.
Being that this was Mayor Levar Stoney’s first term in office, he had never experienced the NAP exhibit in Richmond firsthand; however, that didn’t stop him from getting involved in encouraging city employees to participate. “Mayor Stoney, an advocate of the arts and culture, welcomed The National Arts Program Foundation collaboration and its return to Richmond, Virginia,” commented Ann-Marie and he took time out of his busy schedule to film a promotional video with four talented youth artists to spread the word about the return of this fantastic opportunity. Mayor Stoney even tweeted about the experience, “My artistic skill set improved today thanks to these 4! Thanks for coming to talk about the return of the National Arts Program to RVA!” On his behalf, Raymond Dark from the Office of the Press Secretary to the Mayor attended the awards reception to personally congratulate everyone for taking part in the show.
Participants, new and old, were also thrilled with the return of the program providing tons of positive feedback to both coordinators. One participant even took the time to send a personal note stating, “I wanted to say that your group did an outstanding job on this event. We enjoyed it and took some ideas away with us on what type of art we would like to try. I am saying we, but this event made a big impact on my granddaughter, who is now more interested in art than she was in the first place.”
The NAP is truly grateful for Shaunn and Ann-Marie’s outstanding efforts in coordinating this year’s exhibit and look forward to the bright future the program has in the City of Richmond!
From Left: Jarazz Jenkins, NAP Intern; Shaunn Casselle; Raymond Dark; Taylor Robinson, Teen 13-18 Second Place Winner; Ann-Marie Williams