By CLAIRE COTÉ, LEAP Director, QCC Board Member and Harwood Museum Teaching Artist

The room felt different the moment you walked in: brighter, and unmistakably alive. The “Kids Express Art Show” transformed the Questa Youth Center into a vibrant celebration of imagination, where every wall pulsed with color, experimentation, and heart.

From bold acrylic paintings and watercolor self-portraits, to playful monoprints and a joyful collaborative mosaic, the exhibit reminded us that creativity is always ready and it shows up when kids are given the space to explore. The evidence was in the details: fresh color choices, inventive textures, and ideas from favorite virtual games, architecture, emotions, and landscapes explored through clay, wood, and paint. Genuine expression manifested.

What made the show even more meaningful was the collaboration behind it. Students, teachers, and community partners came together to create something bigger than any one program. On Thursday April 16, the opening reception brought it all together with Mariachi music, a wonderful turnout of families, community members, and young artists witnessing their work being celebrated. The exhibit and musical performances exemplified the power of art to build connection, confidence, and belonging.

Kids Express was a joyful reminder: when young voices are given space, they don’t just fill it, they transform it.
Gratitude to the young artists for your beautiful artwork, and to art teachers Maya MacDonald (Alta Vista), Gaea McGahee (Roots & Wings), and Lorie Hawkes (Red River Charter); your work and creativity was at the heart of this event! Thank you to Rachel León and all the Questa Community Mariachi performers for your wonderful playing at the opening reception; you brought the house down!

Thanks to Kristie Ritchlin (Vida del Norte Youth Coordinator and onsite Questa Afterschool Program Leader) for many logistics and overall support, Mary Jo Kelly (QCC) for installation assistance. Gratitude to event partners Questa Creative Council (QCC), Village of Questa, Harwood Museum of Art, Vida del Norte Questa After School Program and for grant funding support from Chevron Grants for Good and the IMPACT grant through Taos Community Foundation. Thank you to all who made this youth art show show possible!

Let’s continue to celebrate creativity, beauty, expression and the perspectives of young people in our community!