Dedham 5th Graders Welcome Local Artist 

The month of March is National Youth Art Month and in celebration, the Dedham Public Schools Visual Arts Department invited a local artist to spend the week with Dedham 5th graders for an artist in residence program.   Bren Bataclan is a Boston-based artist and Tufts University Fellow who has spent the last 20 years giving away paintings in public spaces with a note saying, “This painting is yours if you promise to smile at random people more often.” 

Bataclan spent a day at each Dedham elementary school with 5th graders focusing on ways to spread kindness through art making. On the final day of his visit, Baraclan did a 45 min workshop at each school to help students write artist statements about their work,  emphasizing the importance of literacy and writing in the art-making process. This artist-in-residence program was made possible by a DEF grant and the hard work of the elementary visual art teachers: Kristin Prata, Sarah Altone, and Sarah Oliver. 

Artist Bren Bataclan with 5th graders from Riverdale Elementary