Arresting Artistry on display at CCSO headquarters

A participant in the Crossroads program at David Lawrence Center (right) discusses her artwork with a member of the local media. Works of artists who were in recovery from substance abuse were featured in the exhibit titled, “Images of Recovery,” in July 2013.

Drawings of faces line the walls on the second floor of Collier County Sheriff’s Office Headquarters in East Naples.

The framed pictures aren’t sketches of suspected criminals drawn by a forensic artist that you might expect to find at a law enforcement agency. They are self-portraits by local preschoolers featured in an art exhibit titled “Vivid #Selfies” on display at the CCSO Community Gallery.

While an art gallery housed in a law enforcement agency may seem unusual, it’s just one of the many progressive and unique ways CCSO is showcasing its community partnerships.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office partnered in November with Collier Child Care Resources Incorporated to display the self-portraits of children ages 3 to 5 years old attending its NCEF Early Childhood Development Center

“A big component of the Sheriff’s Office is community, and we believe in partnering with as many organizations as we can to spread the message of safety,” said CCSO Media Relations Officer Krista Lester, who helps coordinate the gallery.

The gallery offers CCSO partners an opportunity to spotlight the agency’s commitment to the community.

The gallery has housed 14 exhibits since making its debut in January 2011. Exhibits have ranged from the artwork of domestic violence survivors who participate in the Naples Shelter for Abused Women & Children’s Healing Arts Program to artwork by child residents of Youth Haven, Collier County’s only emergency shelter exclusively for child and adolescent victims of abuse, neglect and abandonment. Other exhibits have included vivid and colorful photos of some of the plants and wildlife that call Naples home in cooperation with Naples Zoo and Caribbean Gardens and a series of oil pastels depicting the experience of Alzheimer’s disease by a local artist in partnership with the Alzheimer’s Support Network.

A child artist has her picture taken with her “selfie” during the opening-night reception for the Vivid #Selfies exhibit at the CCSO Community Gallery. Since 2011,14 exhibits have been shown in the art gallery, housed on the second floor of Sheriff’s Office headquarters. The gallery was created to showcase the partnerships developed between CCSO and community.

CCSO partnered with Collier Child Care Resources Inc. for the “Vivid #Selfies” exhibit, which featured 34 images by preschoolers inspired by Swiss artist Paul Klee. The children, who attend the Naples Children & Education Foundation Early Childhood Development Center, were asked about the shape of their faces and used mirrors to study and draw using the oil pastels and crayons.

After drawing their portraits, the blocked-color backgrounds were created by brushing on squares of tissue paper with water.

Kathy Hostetler, teaching artist at the NCEF Early Childhood Development Center, said she was surprised to hear the Sheriff’s Office was also home to an art gallery.

Youth Haven Director of Programs Jinx Ligget admires the artwork alongside one of the child artists whose work was on display in 2011. CCSO partnered with Youth Haven, a local non-profit organization dedicated to helping abused and neglected children. Ligget said at the time that the organization’s art program is therapeutic and a powerful tool in the recovery process for the children. Displaying their artwork through the Community Gallery has filled many of the featured artists with a sense of purpose and pride, she said. Photo(s) by Media Relations Officer Kristi Lester/CCSO

“I was surprised in a good way because the Sheriff’s Office is pulling in the community,” Hostetler said. The gallery, she said, shows a different and creative side of law enforcement.

More than a dozen of the children in the program and parents turned out for the opening night reception for the “Vivid #Selfies” exhibit.

“The children were so excited to see their art on the wall outside of school,” Hostetler said.

The exhibits featured at the Community Gallery rotate every three months. Opening receptions are held for each new exhibit to continually showcase the art and partnership of the participating organization. The Sheriff’s Office headquarters is a community building and welcomes all members of the public to come and view the exhibits.

The gallery is located in the administrative offices on the second floor of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, 3319 U.S. 41 E., Bldg. J, East Naples. The public is invited to view Community Gallery exhibits during normal business hours.

The CCSO Community Gallery welcomes any local public service organizations interested in setting up a future exhibit.

For more information about the gallery or how an organization can participate, contact CCSO Media Relations Officer Kristi Lester at
239.252.0608, or Kristi.Lester@colliersheriff.org.