Mountaineer Artists Attend 16th Annual K-8 Empire State Plaza Art Collection Exhibition

Mar 17, 2025 | BCSD Art Blog, BES Principal Blog, District, Elementary School, Featured, News

BES Mountaineer artists who had their work featured at the Empire State Plaza’s 16th annual K-8 Art Collection Exhibit in downtown Albany were celebrated at the family reception last Thursday night.
Several of the artists attended the reception in the South Concourse of the Empire State Plaza to see their art in an exhibition of more than 1,100 artworks from 17 surrounding Capital Region schools. The students’ work was inspired by the abstract expressionist collection currently housed in the South Concourse.
Students also heard from and met the keynote speaker Artist Jade Warrick, aka TrashKiD Art. Warrick has experience as a sculptor, muralist, illustrator, and community organizer within the arts. She shared words of encouragement with the artist and hoped that they would continue to feed their passion for the arts.
Warrick was introduced to BES’ art teacher Mrs. MacDonald and was happy to hear about the art club offerings at BES and was excited by the work Mrs. MacDonald is doing with her students and the way in which the arts are being supported in a smaller rural district of NY.
Jade Warrick’s work can be spotted in murals across the Region. One of Warrick’s murals that is not too far from Berlin CSD and may be familiar to some Mountaineers is the “Gems of Troy” Public Art Installation under the Hoosick Street Bridge.
While walking around the exhibit Mrs. MacDonald was happy to find local Rensselaer County Legislator Mr. Daniel Casale admiring her Berlin students’ artwork. Mr. Casale serves on several legislative committees, one of which includes Chairman of the Education Committee and was so excited to see his Rensselaer County neighbors artwork in the Capital Region exhibition and congratulated Mrs. MacDonald on her students’ achievements.
The K-8 Student Art Exhibit art will be on display and open to the public through March 23.

 

February 25, 2025

Mountaineer Artists Selected for 16th Annual K-8 Empire State Plaza Art Collection Exhibition

 

 

Congratulations to the Berlin Elementary School Mountaineer Artists whose artwork was selected to be in the 16th annual K-8 Empire State Plaza Art Collection Exhibition. This exhibit is one of a kind and is the only Capital Region exhibit for K-8 students. 

It will be displayed in the South Concourse of the Empire State Plaza, in Albany, NY, from March 3rd until March 23rd when the concourse is open. It is an opportunity for students to showcase how their artwork was inspired by artwork from the Empire State Plaza Collection, which consists of 92 works of Abstract Expressionist Art. The student exhibition will have over 1,100 artworks displayed from 17 surrounding Capital Region school districts. The exhibit is in conjunction with National Youth Art Month, which takes place during the month of March.

An opening reception for the artists and their families will be held Thursday, March 13th, from 5:30-6:30 pm. The students will be celebrated and hear from keynote speaker Artist Jade Warrick, aka TrashKiD Art. 

A special connection for the Berlin Elementary School is that BES Art Teacher Ms. Michelle MacDonald’s Modern Art professor at SUNY Purchase, Mr. Irving Sandler, was involved in collecting artwork and curating the permanent collection at the Empire State Plaza, which the students’ artwork was inspired by. This is a wonderful full-circle moment for Mrs. MacDonald and her students. This is a wonderful full-circle moment for Mrs. MacDonald and her students. 

Mrs. MacDonald and BES Principal Mrs. Jodi Cataldo are excited to congratulate Mountaineer artists: Eliza Geerholt, Dale Hunt, Riley Blakely, Luke Stott, Ava Von Schilgen, Emma Hunt, Jaxson Homiak, Khalani Gonzalez-Caban, Taylor Sroka, Julia Turetsky, Clara Church, and Gavin Church.

 

Way to go Mountaineers!