Flanders 7-year-old is youngest ever to exhibit art at East End Arts Council

Ruby Ann McDavid, of Flanders, is a lot like most 7-year-olds; she loves to play, go to school, sing, be outdoors and be a big sister. Unlike others, however, she’s the youngest artist ever to be in an exhibition at East End Arts Council in Riverhead. It’s the first time that a 7-year-old’s work has been displayed at the gallery.

Ruby Ann’s artwork was part of the Gen-Art 2024 Open Juried Exhibition which closed in December. Billed as “an all-ages national show exploring creativity across the generations,” the show featured 70 pieces of artwork created by approximately 40 genX’ers, millennials and boomers. Her two pieces — one a portrait of Mexico’s celebrated artist, Frida Kahlo, and the second a line of small colorful rainbow hearts with faces on them — were created with a material all kids love: Play-Doh.  

The budding artist explained in a shy voice what inspired her two pieces. “My babysitter was wearing a heart shirt and that’s where I got the idea from. It’s made from Play-Doh, paper and gold glitter glue. I just made the hearts with my hands. I put a face on them and let them dry. And it only took me two days. And one day at school, we had to pick a famous artist, and I picked Frida Kahlo because she’s my favorite. We have the same birthday!” Ruby Ann said.  

In 2020, the McDavids enrolled their daughter in the Peconic Community School in Cutchogue, or “PSC” as Ruby Ann calls it.  “Ruby Ann is very expressive. Ever since she was little, we were looking for ways to see where that creativity would take her,” said Eve McDavid, her mother. “The art community is really rich, and it makes the experience of art part of her identity as she grows, to see herself as an artist.” 

Ruby Ann’s Kahlo piece was first exhibited at the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton. Her dad Arthur joked that “it was on loan from the Parrish!” It is really important, he added, to nurture her creativity and the joy of art. “I couldn’t imagine a better birthday present for me on my 40th birthday than my daughter being chosen for the Gen-Art exhibit,” Mr. McDavid said.

Another picture she drew was of a boy who was mean to her at school. “It helped her to process her fear,” he added.

“She’s been developing her art skills over the past two years. I’ve been telling her you can grow up to be an artist, and you can start now,” said Melissa Pressler, Ruby Ann’s teacher at East End Arts. “I’ve seen a big shift in the way she carries herself now; being in the exhibit has brought her a lot of confidence. I feel like I’m mentoring a 7-year-old who’s going on 17!”

Both of Ruby Ann’s pieces were sold: the smiley hearts Play-Doh went to her grandparents, and the Kahlo piece to an anonymous buyer.

East End Arts is hoping to hold more student exhibitions in the future. “With the creative process we learn a lot of life lessons as we go. It’s all about using art to navigate our life and our feelings,” Ms. Pressler said. 

Teaching art in the public school system for two decades, Ken Jackson, who juried the East End Arts exhibition, has seen lots of student artwork. “She’s an impressive little girl. I saw how young she was and I said, this child has to be in the show. Kahlo is a serious piece … It looks like a much older person did it.”

He added that he believes art boosts children’s confidence and maturity when they see art “as an avenue they can go down.”