MCKEE STUDENT ART EXHIBITION CELEBRATES 92ND YEAR

The Collection Is On Display February 2 To March 19

BY NORA HESTON TARTE

Storytime. Robert T. McKee was born and raised in Stockton in the early 1900s. He studied art and theater around the world for many years before meeting and marrying Eila Haggin. When McKee heard of the efforts of the San Joaquin Pioneer and Historical Society to build a history museum in his hometown, he convinced Eila to contribute to the efforts. She did, and with her donation of a portion of her father’s estate and local fundraising efforts, the Haggin Museum came to be.

But McKee didn’t just want to support the vision of the society; he had some ideas of his own. So, in return for the donation, he and Eila requested a student art exhibition be a part of the programming to encourage youth to get involved in the arts. That was the start of the McKee Student Art Exhibition, the longest running student program of its kind in the country.

In its 92nd year, the McKee exhibition will be on display at The Haggin Museum from February 2 until March 19, showing off the artistic talents of local students from grades kindergarten to 12. Students from every school in the region are invited to submit.

The result each year is a staggering 1,000+ submissions collected by teachers and deemed the best in class. While on display, both the Museum’s Tuleburg and West galleries will feature two- and threedimensional pieces of art in a variety of mediums, including crayon, colored pencil, pastel, watercolor, oil and acrylic paint, photography, and more.

For Leanne Lee, the McKee art exhibit gives her daughter, Chloe, an opportunity to explore her artistic side, a passion the mother says she passed down to her 11-year-old daughter. A student at Presentation Parish School, Chloe has participated in the event for multiple years. Being part of the McKee contest, Chloe “learned new ways to create art,” her mother says. “It helped with her confidence with drawing and creating new things out of her own imagination.”

While Chloe has big dreams of becoming a lawyer one day, right now art is where her heart lies. After school, she comes home to sculpt and paint pottery, read books, and watch K-Pop videos.

The McKee exhibition “really showed how kids' minds are so creative and imaginative,” Leanne says. “[Chloe] loved to see other kids' creative artworks.”