KID smART and Saints wide receiver Kirk Merritt embark on artistic collaboration
NEW ORLEANS – A skilled artist with a deep passion for arts education, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Kirk Merritt is partnering with KID smART for a series of events that empower children through the transformative power of the arts.
The first event collaboration, “Painting with Saint's Player, Kirk Merritt”, takes place July 23 at Chez Clay and sold out within minutes. With a paintbrush in hand and a world of colors at their disposal, participating children get to paint their own canvas masterpiece alongside Merritt. Take home art supplies will be gifted to each child so they can continue their creative journey at home – Merritt and KID smART’s way to fostering a lifelong love for the arts and providing children with the tools they need to keep their imagination flourishing.
“This partnership with KID smART means a lot,” said Kirk Merritt. “Painting has truly been a creative outlet for me outside of the football field, but growing up access to the arts wasn’t always readily available in my community. I’d like to do whatever I can to make sure children have access to the arts and provide them with the tools they need to keep their imaginations flourishing.”
With more than 3,500 students enrolled in KID smART Creative Schools throughout NOLA Public Schools, Merritt will tour select programs this fall to see first-hand the positive impacts of arts integrated education and serve as an inspiration to students to follow their dreams.
Merritt will also take part in the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats fundraiser this upcoming football season, during which NFL players reveal their passions beyond the game and wear their hearts on their feet. Players have the opportunity to pick a cause that is important to them and represent their chosen organization on custom designed cleats, which in Merritt’s case will be KID smART. After wearing the cleats, Merritt will donate them to the NFL Auction and all proceeds from the sale of the cleats will go to KID smART’a mission – engaging children and educators in creative and relevant learning through the arts.
Later this year, Merritt’s personal artwork will be sold at a fundraising event where proceeds will go to KID smART. This fundraiser will also offer a raffle component where a lucky winner will have a chance to take home one of Merritt’s one-of-a-kind pieces.
“We are beyond grateful for Kirk’s generosity and excited to see where this creative partnership takes us,” said Elise Gallinot Goldman, executive director of KID smART. “Together, we hope to continue empowering children through the transformative power of the arts.”
Artists Campbell Hutchinson and Allison Stewart founded KID smART in 1999 to provide public school students with greater access to arts-rich education. In its 24-year history, KID smART has served more than 32,000 students and 5,000 teachers in schools throughout New Orleans. With the belief that the power of the arts should be available to all New Orleans children, KID smART works within public schools to reach underserved children with the most to gain from an arts-rich, social-emotional education.
For more information about KID smART, visit www.kidsmart.org
###
Editor’s Note: High-resolution images are available here.
About KID smART
Over the last two decades, KID smART has collaborated with more than 40 New Orleans public schools to blend the arts into academic lessons to make classrooms more effective and joyful places to learn. Through full-year artist residencies, students in KID smART Creative Schools prove to grow academically, artistically and emotionally. KID smART also partners with national thought leaders, including Harvard's Project Zero Classroom, to incorporate best practices in arts and education into its program model.