May 1, 2025
Marley shares her inspiring journey of curating and developing a children's art gallery in partnership with the Southwest Art Gallery and Science Center. At just 16 years old, Marley embarked on this project to provide art-related opportunities for kids in her community in North Dakota, where such resources were scarce. She discusses her passion for art as a self-taught artist, the need she identified in her community, and how her collaboration with the Southwest Art Gallery, which shares her mission, facilitated the creation of this new space. Marley reflects on her experience as a volunteer and the process of curating the first exhibit, highlighting the importance of fostering creativity among youth. Tune in to learn how one young artist is making a difference in her community through art!
About Our Guest:
My name is Marly Barnett, I am a 17-year-old Girl Scout from Troop
85112 and I live in the SW region of North Dakota. My Gold Award
project, titled “SW Art Gallery and Science Center’s Children’s
Gallery”, was to develop a children’s art gallery for grades K-12
within the physical building of the SW Art Gallery and Science
Center. I started this project at age 16 in April 2024, and as a
result, I have advanced from a volunteer position to a paid role as
Student Director of the SW Art Gallery and Science Center’s
Children’s Gallery in October. Most recently I added Social Media
Coordinator to my responsibilities. The reason I chose this as my
Gold Award project was for two reasons, one to play a more active
role in my community and two, as a self-taught artist, to make the
arts more accessible for young artists in Region 8 of North
Dakota.