OTHELLO — Having the school year end abruptly has forced teachers and school district staff to get creative with ways to allow students to display their creativity and learning. The art teachers in the Othello School District are no exception.

“We had a little bit of a period where we were providing students with learning opportunities, but they were limited,” said Paul Oursland, director of STEAM education for the Othello School District and the facilitator for the art show. “We had some teachers at the elementary level really looking to help.”

The art teachers in the district came up with a plan to host a virtual art show that will allow all students in the district to participate.

“We have a lot of very talented teachers putting their heads together for a solution for a very difficult thing,” Oursland said.

The virtual art show is open to all Othello School District students. Categories include sculptures or 3D mixed media; tinker creations such as K’Nex, Legos or blocks; drawings; digital art; paintings; collages or 2D media; garbage art and food art. Students can enter pictures or videos of their art pieces.

“The categories are for student inspiration,” Oursland said. “They’re all-encompassing. I’m hard-pressed to think of something a student would create that wouldn’t fit into one of those categories.”

Oursland said that he will be reviewing submissions through the end of May.

“I’ll be monitoring to make sure nothing inappropriate goes up,” Oursland said.

Submissions will be available for public display for the foreseeable future. A link to the virtual art show is available on the Othello School District’s Facebook page.

“Art work is slowly trickling in,” Oursland said. “I’m hoping that kids are taking time to make their art. I’m excited to see it.”

Rachal Pinkerton may be reached via email at [email protected].