On Tuesday, December 14, artist Bren Bataclan will be at North Yarmouth Academy (NYA) to conduct a presentation and workshop. Bataclan is best known for his Smile Boston Project in which he leaves his cartoon-inspired paintings all over Boston for people to take for “free.” Each painting includes the notation: “This painting is yours if you promise to smile at random people more often.” He has gone worldwide with his Smile Boston Project and has painted murals and exhibited paintings nationwide. His first presentation and workshop will be from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. and is for fifth and sixth grades only. The second presentation is open to the public, free of charge, and takes place from 11:00 a.m. to noon in the Priscilla Savage Middle School Community Room (172 Main Street, Yarmouth).
Fifth grade teacher Shannon Gallagher first encountered Bataclan’s work a few years ago when she was in graduate school. She was taking a poetry course, and a television documentary on his artwork inspired a poem. She emailed the poem to Bataclan, and he sent her a kind response. “That was pretty much it until my daughter recently reminded me of his work,” said Gallagher. She found his email address and was able to set up his visit. Bataclan will talk about the Smile Boston Project and do a drawing demonstration in each workshop.
“I would like for my fifth grade class to do their own Smile Project,” said Gallagher. “I am working to find a place that could use a little brightening – like a nursing home or shelter. We could leave a happy mark on a place that could use a little smile.”
Bataclan’s Smile Project has been featured in the CBS Evening News, The Smithsonian Magazine, The Readers Digest, The Chicago Tribune, The Detroit Free Press, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Boston Globe to name a few. For more information, visit his website.
Bataclan’s visit is made possible by a generous grant from the NYA Parents’ Association.
North Yarmouth Academy is an independent, college preparatory, coeducational day school serving students in grades five through twelve. NYA is dedicated to fostering integrity, character and intellect in young adults. For more information, please contact NYA at 207-846-2380, Ext. 9305 or visit our website at www.nya.org.
