Franklin Regional art students send portraits overseas to Malaysia
Members of Franklin Regional’s National Art Honor Society may be stuck at home amid the coronavirus pandemic, but their artwork continues to make a difference in the lives of others.
Most recently, it made a difference by way of the Memory Project, which promotes intercultural awareness and friendship through art. Project officials took photos of 20 Malaysian children and sent them to society members, who in turn created portraits which were shipped back overseas.
“At times like this, I wanted to share how artists can help change the world — one child at a time,” said Lori Mozina, art teacher at Franklin Regional Senior High School.
Mozina recently received a letter from Memory Project officials thanking the society for the portraits created this fall, along with a video.
“We normally do this project in the fall and spring, but we didn’t have time to complete any spring portraits due to the school closure,” Mozina said. “It’s such a large undertaking, I’m not sure how I would manage the process remotely, so hopefully we can begin another round next year.”
The project is supported through a grant from the Gurrentz Family Charitable Foundation.
Franklin Regional students were among more than 3,000 young artists worldwide who participate in the project each year.
“I’m thankful to have community support and a grant from the Gurrentz foundation to continue to support this yearly project,” Mozina said.
For more, see TheMemoryProject.org.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
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