Artwork by Mitzi Harris ’16 was featured at the third annual Young Artists Exhibition “I-den-ti-ty” at the St. Louis Art Museum. Organized and juried by members of the Teen Arts Council, the exhibition is open to students in grades 8 to 12 which reflect identity and how you perceive yourself, how others perceive you, or the importance of identity in contemporary life.
Mitzi took the photo, titled “A Little Bit of Faith,” during a month-long summer trip she took to Tanzania to hike Kilimanjaro and spend a few weeks in an orphanage. At the orphanage, she forged a very close bond with a three-year-old girl named Faith (not the girl shown in the picture), and she inspired her by how happy she was in spite of all of the problems she faced. Mitzi titled the piece “A Little Bit of Faith” to honor her memory. It was taken in Lushoto, a village in the Usambara Mountains that she hiked through on one of her first days in Africa. Mitzi recalls, “This small girl was standing against the wall observing us, and I love this picture because it captures the innocence and curiosity of youth. I think this picture captures a small bit of how much my trip to Africa changed my life.”
The 2015 Young Artists Exhibition will be on view from May 9 through September 6 in the Museum’s Student Gallery.