From left, Sophia Lawrence and Carly Sopher won second and first prize respectively in the student art exhibit on until the end of April at A Place for the Arts in Bancroft.
Robert Fisher
Staff Reporter
BANCROFT – Students in Bancroft are part of two exhibits currently on display at A Place for the Arts (APFTA) in Bancroft.
An annual student showcase of art from students at North Hastings High School hangs until the end of the month. A second exhibit, the Emerging Artists Scholarship, will rotate six artists for two months each over the next year. Mira Gorman is the first artist on display under the program. The gallery hosted an opening reception for both exhibits last Wednesday.
Debbie Christie, curator at the gallery, told the Gazette that the emerging artist program is for students aged 14 to 19 and one of the selected artists is in college.
“It’s been one of my goals as the chairperson to have more student involvement in A Place for the Arts,” Christie said. The board has discussed various alternatives and when a community member volunteered to sponsor a membership, the gallery was able to offer the emerging artists program for the first time.
APFTA works on a membership plan where artists pay an annual membership and can display their work in the gallery. The memberships, Christie explained, pay the rent for the space.
The emerging artists program is a little different from the regular student showcase. The high school students aren’t necessarily going to be considering a future career in the visual arts, where the emerging artists program is dedicated to those who do plan on taking their art career further.
Rory Jackson, brother and sister Sephie and Ruben Tremblay Buk, Reid Raymond and Olivia Gonzolez are the others who will exhibit, in addition to Mira. Local artists Allan O’Marra, Barbara Allport and Kelsey Fuller selected the six from the applications.
Initially the call for artists didn’t receive a strong response. Christie said she felt students may be more reserved and nervous about showing their art. Fuller engaged with a local youth group and several more applications came in. In the end, “we were really happy with the turnaround,” in response and they decided to offer six spots, turning over every two months when the gallery turns over its other member work.
“It’s an education for them,” she said, because they’re learning how to frame their work for presentation, price it for sale and how to present themselves to an audience and talk publicly about their art.
Students in the high school exhibit range from grades nine through 12. This year, for the first time, the gallery decided to do a judging of the exhibit and two close friends took the top two prizes. While there was no set theme to the work, most of it was done with pastels because that’s the medium the students worked with when they were creating the pieces.
Christie said the students hung the exhibit themselves, deciding where each piece would go. “It’s there interpretation of what pieces look good together and it’s a learning experience for them.” This year is the fifth high school student showcase.
robert@thevalleygazette.ca
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