Tara Kirchgessner is an Art Teacher at McCaskey Campus High School.  Along with her students, it is the 10th year participating in Keys For the City.  Together, Tara and her students design, prep, and paint a piano each year.  This opportunity allows the students to have ownership in an exciting art instillation in their own city.  With this ownership is a sense of pride for themselves, their school, their peers, and their city.  Each year Tara and her students are excited and thankful for this opportunity!

Janette has worked in the field of advertising and art related employment in several capacities, including a fashion illustrator, freelance artist, and scenic painter. Exhibiting her work since 1992 in the Lancaster, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia areas. Her large scale mural work includes nature-inspired scenery in the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Bass Pro Shops in several USA locations. Locally, you’ll find an historically-inspired mural at the rear of 301 Locust Street, Columbia, and a vintage-inspired mural for Hinkle’s Restaurant, also in Columbia. There are 2 pianos in Columbia that Janette has painted for Create Columbia. 

Presently, Janette works as a scenic artist for American Music Theatre in Lancaster. The scene shop works year round to bring the the joy of Christmas to theatre fans every holiday season. Her studio work is represented by Garth Gallery, Columbia, Pennsylvania. Several paintings are in the collection of Penn Medicine Lancaster General Hospital network, the Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute, Penn State Health Lancaster, and in numerous private collections. Janette’s work has also been published in the Lancaster General Health’s book of Healing Arts.