Katelynn Yang, 5th grade
"My artifact is special to me because it reminds me of my grandfather's sword. My grandfather was a shaman who used a sword for religious practices. As a shaman, he saved many people from illnesses."
Kids/Teens Collect
KIDS COLLECT: A PROJECT WITH STUDENTS AT SUSAN B. ANTHONY SCHOOL
On view from 2022 through April 5, 2023, at the Robert T. Matsui Gallery inside Sacramento City Hall (915 I Street).
Sacramento has the third largest Hmong population in the United States, with nearly 30,000 people of Hmong heritage calling it home. One of California’s three Hmong dual-language immersion programs can be found in Sacramento’s Meadowview neighborhood at Susan B. Anthony Elementary School. Here, students are instructed in both Hmong and English. In 2022, the Center for Sacramento History asked 5th and 6th graders at Susan B. Anthony to imagine what an exhibit about them or their families would look like.
For this exhibit, students chose objects from home and wrote about what made them so important. These objects are presented with label text written by the students themselves.
“We all have something valuable, it doesn’t need to be expensive, as long as it’s important to you.” – Anabella Vang, 6th grade
Gwen Lor, 6th grade
"My Hmoob house is made out of bamboo. My family has been watering the bamboo tree for years. My dad and I cut the leaves of the bamboo to make the roof. All of my family helped and told me what it needed for it to look better."
Silvia Xiong, 5th grade
"One artifact that represents me is a bracelet. The bracelet came from my grandmother who used to wear it as a protection against nightmares."
Shianne Her, 6th grade
"The Care Bear is important to my family because my parents made it together. It helps me sleep at night when I have nightmares."
TEENS COLLECT: WE ARE WHO WE ARE
On view from April 9, 2024 through April 30, 2024, at the Robert T. Matsui Gallery inside Sacramento City Hall (915 I Street).
"We Are Who We Are," an exhibit of personal stories told by students from American Legion High School and illustrated by local artists.
Produced in partnership by the Center for Sacramento History (CSH) and Sacramento Office of Arts and Culture (OAC), with support from the Office of Vice Mayor Caity Maple, the exhibit is part of CSH's Kids Collect program, which seeks to promote history literacy among K-12 students. Twenty-three students at American Legion High School, a credit recovery high school in Sacramento's Oak Park, each wrote a personal essay that shows who they are, where they came from, or a perspective they would like to share with the world. To help tell these stories with a visual component, the OAC tapped into their network of local artists to create new pieces inspired by the students' words. Nine different artists read, interpreted, and captured the essence of each tale in their own unique style. Together, these images and stories paint a diverse picture of life in the Sacramento region for our young community members.
The art seen here is by Taylor Pannell.
