Malcolm McCrae working to inspire youth to create

Malcolm McCrae wants to bring art to the people, and while his colorful murals dot the Cape Girardeau landscape, he's working on a project now to be more direct with supplies and instructions to people who want and need a creative outlet.

Since shutdowns related to COVID-19 began earlier this year, McCrae has been teaching ni virtual classrooms and assisting in online summer camps for organizations across the country, he said. He's working with Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, on an online art camp for children, and has worked with Shawnee College in Southern Illinois and another organization in New York.

All of this has happened in July, McCrae said, laughing.

He'd already been focusing on learning to teach art online. "I knew this would be the future in education, and COVID-19 sped up the need for this kind of training to keep young people engaged through virtual opportunities," McCrae said.

Teaching art online is different than teaching in person, McCrae said, even though he employs the same tools to get students' attention and help inspire them. His art style is colorful and dynamic, and hip-hop imagery and energy infuses his work. That helps capture students' imaginations, he said.

Airbrush artist Malcolm McCrae is shown in his Cape Girardeau studio June 11, 2019.Southeast Missourian file

"Now, with virtual learning, I'm just taking that and expanding it," McCrae said.

Many of the students he works with don't have access to art supplies, though, and that's where his latest fundraiser comes in.

"You're dealing with kids who don't have pens, markers, pencils, canvases, paintbrushes," McCrae said. "I'm trying to get young people creating."

That creative outlet is necessary to children who, like adults, are dealing with the stresses of COVID-19 and quarantine, McCrae said.

"There's confinement. School will be different. Social opportunities too. We have heightened pressure. People in general need creative distractions, especially now," he explained.

Each art supply kit will be a $25 value, and needs to be shipped, McCrae said.

Proceeds from the fundraiser will also go toward scholarships for a virtual art camp McCrae has planned for September, he said.

The end result of the art camp will be an online gallery where students can display their work, McCrae said.

"We're coming into a new school year, that will be different than before," McCrae said. "Kids and their parents are dealing with a lot of anxiety. We want to do our part to help with that. It's proactive and healthy for us all to figure out creative outlets to keep us mentally sane and healthy."

More information is online at www.facebook.com/airbrushassassin or www.malcolmmccrae.com.

Live book talks

Cape Girardeau Public Library is talking books on Facebook Live. Library staff will review books and compile similar titles for readers to check out. Head to the library's Facebook page at 12:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays.

The library's lobby and drive-thru are open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday at 711 N. Clark St. in Cape Girardeau.

Measure light at night

Riverside Regional Library will hold a live virtual event at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at www.facebook.com/RiversideRegionalLibrary. Connie Walker, Globe at Night project lead, will explain the Globe at Night project's international mission to raise public awareness of light pollution and its effects. Children's and youth services librarian Alynda Smithey will ask Walker about her education and career path, and her research, and will ask questions from attendees as well.

The event will also include a project, available ahead of time at www.scistarter.org/nlm/globe-at-night-nlm.

More info: www.riversideregionallibrary.org, (573) 243-8141