South Shore Arts, and Executive Director David Mika, welcome Jessica Corral as the new Director of Education responsible for leading and driving growth in Arts Education and Outreach programming across Lake, Porter and LaPorte Counties. She will also support the educational outreach efforts of the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra.

"After an extensive search and many fine recommendations, we chose Jessica to lead our Arts Education and Outreach efforts,” Executive Director Dave Mika said. “I am confident given Jessica’s extensive experience as an artist, educator, entrepreneur and community-engaged leader, she will provide a strong foundation on which to expand our Arts Education programming and add tremendous depth to our talented South Shore Arts leadership team."

Corral has served as an art educator for Valparaiso Community Schools since 2011 at Flint Lake Elementary. She was also the Art Department Chair, a member of the District Leadership team, and led and coordinated the district’s initial “Spring into the Arts” festival celebrating and sharing student artwork across the community. Prior to becoming an Art Instructor, Corral organized and ran her own boutique, Jade and Raspberry Designs which later morphed into DIY Art Studio. She continues to be an active artist and is currently serving as the first Executive Director of the Valparaiso Creative Council, a relatively new not-for-profit community organization created to champion artistic endeavors throughout the Valparaiso community. Corral is an alumnus of Indiana University in Bloomington with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. She has her Masters in Education from Calumet College of Saint Joseph.

As Director of Education for the South Shore Arts, Corral will work closely with staff and instructors to ensure the highest standards of education for classes and workshops at South Shore Arts main location at The Center for Visual and Performing Arts in Munster and satellite location, Substation No. 9 in downtown Hammond. Corral will continue South Shore Arts outreach efforts, such as the “everykid” program which has served 139 classrooms this past school year across Lake & Porter Counties, engaging 3,500 students in various art & literacy programs.

South Shore Arts was established in 1936 by a collection of local artists with an avowed purposed “to stimulate interest and appreciation of art in our region.” founded in the Edward C. Minas Department Store in downtown Hammond, South Shore Arts has grown as a not-for-profit Arts organization to champion the Arts in the region through exhibition, instruction, and outreach. South Shore Arts serves as the Regional Arts Partner for the Indiana Arts Commission for Lake, Porter and LaPorte Counties.

Local artist, Kerri Mommer is debuting her new body of work “Trees, Land, Sky” in her first solo exhibit with South Shore Arts in the Atrium Gallery at The Center for Visual & Performing Arts. Mommer is a multi-talented artist from the Midwest having had multiple shows throughout large swaths of Indiana, Iowa, and Chicago. Her work has been displayed in numerous group and juried shows over the years, including the South Shore Arts Annual Salon Show. Mommer is active in the regional art community having worked with the Diversified Art Visionaries, the South Lake Artists Co-op, and Artist in Residence-Hammond. She works primarily in water-based media such as watercolor and acrylic paint.

Kerri Mommer’s “Trees, Land, Sky” is a collection of new landscapes exploring her inspiration and insights of the natural world. During the past few years, Mommer has taken to hiking outdoors in order to immerse herself in the wellspring of the natural world. Longing for fresh air and nature especially through the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the artist found her inspiration. Is there a better source of inspiration than that of nature? Ever-changing, a constant unbroken cycle of life, death, and rebirth amongst the land and trees. To look at a sky constantly moving, the face of which is different each day. The world is moving, and Kerri is observing. Whether that observation takes place through the lens of a camera or the brushstroke of a paintbrush, Kerri’s work has been informed by her keen eyes, and through their recordings crafted into her new body of work.

“Trees, Land, Sky” marks a turning point from Mommer’s past bodies of artwork, a switch from her preferred medium of watercolor to new, larger works done with acrylic paint. These new landscapes burst forth in a dance of expressionism that teeter on the edges of abstraction. Where realism may falter, Mommer can paint whatever can be imagined, reaching beyond the boundaries of reality. Unbound by the rules of realism, Mommer’s landscapes can take on a layer of symbolism that otherwise might be lost. These landscapes capture a world of duality. A world that can be bright, hopeful, and even spiritual. But also, a world that is teetering on the edge, unsure, and unstable. A balance of optimism and pessimism. Leaving the viewer with the question of what will the natural world be like in the future?