Battle Ground Mayor Eric Overholser officially proclaimed the week of April 12-17 as “Student Artist Week” during the council’s Monday, April 6 meeting.
Student Artist Week has been an effort spearheaded by Battle Ground resident Natalie Worthy, who also serves as Miss Greater Vancouver 2026. Worthy accepted the proclamation by Overholser and further highlighted her own experience as a Prairie High School graduate, current music teacher and lifelong Clark County resident.
Worthy has also created a new event at Old Town Battle Ground that brings local student artwork to the forefront. Worthy, founder of the nonprofit Amplify the Arts, organized a student art walk scheduled for April 13-17. The event will feature artwork from K-12 students across the Battle Ground area, displayed in storefronts throughout Old Town.
Worthy hopes the event will not only showcase art but also remove barriers that often prevent community members from engaging with youth creativity.
“I think for a lot of people, if their child isn’t involved in something like this, they might not ever see it,” she said, in a previous interview with The Reflector. “Everyone is so busy, and so if your kid isn’t in orchestra or isn’t in choir or doing an art show, then you’re not going to see that because it’s not something in your radar. So my hope for this is that people in Battle Ground are able to see that we have incredible talents here. And for so many of our youth, they deserve a place where their talents can be shared and also their stories can be shared, as well.”
With this being a first-of-its-kind event for Battle Ground student artists, Worthy hopes to see this grow year after year into an annual display of talents and foster community support and engagement with youth arts.
Worthy said participating locations include several Main Street businesses such as Music World, Galleoti’s, Uptown Screen Printing, and 6-8 Church on Northeast First Street. A Google Maps guide will be available on the nonprofit's website to help visitors navigate the exhibit at amplifythearts.com.
