Bethany Arts Community and Ossining Children’s Center partner to present Side by Side, a multimedia art exhibit which celebrates our diverse community. Among many themes, one we explore in particular is that of difference-sameness.  

The Ossining Children’s Center encourages children to consider how the contrast of difference and sameness actually brings us together harmoniously because when children learn to respect and celebrate the differences in others they also learn just how similar we all are. This is at the core of what the Ossining Children’s Center teaches. Difference-sameness is what we all pride ourselves in as members of the Ossining community. 

 We ask our children:
“How do you feel?”
“How do you see yourself?”
“How do you see your friends?”
“What languages do your parents speak at home?”
“Where is your family from?”
 In doing so we find connections in our racial, linguistic, cultural, and gender differences that foster a sense of respect and community.  

Through a myriad of mediums, the pieces created in this exhibit reflect diversity and introduce our children to new methods of creative expression at the crossroads of literature and visual art.