Union College will host the 2006 High School Regional Juried Art Exhibition, highlighting works from students in Albany, Schenectady, and Rensselaer counties.
Students' artwork will be displayed at College Park Hall from March 19 through April 15. This exhibit is free and open to the public.
The exhibition will feature art that uses the full-spectrum of media including painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, photography, ceramics and textiles. Entries are selected from some of the most talented high school art students in the region.
“The High School Regional is a great opportunity for high school students to exhibit their work in a professional venue and to have it seen by a broad public. For aspiring artists it is a little taste of the future,” said Rachel Seligman, Director, Mandeville Gallery, and Curator, Union College Permanent Collection.
This marks the seventh year for the show, which is patterned after the High School Regional originated by the Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, N.Y.
The 2006 jurors are: Sheldon Hurst, Dean of the Faculty, Adirondack Community College, Tara Fraccalosi, Instructor of Fine Arts, Hudson Valley Community College; and Renee Azenaro, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Art, Sage College.
The purpose of the regional show is to fill a gap created from the cancellation of local access to the Annual Regional Scholastic Arts Competition and to give high school students the opportunity to experience participating in a juried exhibit, at a real local art gallery.
The show developed into an annual event that currently rotates among galleries at Union College, Sage College in Albany and the Emma Willard School in Troy. This is an important rotation because each community in the region is able to host the exhibit every three years, according to exhibit organizers. The galleries have exposure to new audiences, and the public has access to a respected resource near their local high school.
This year, an award will be dedicated to the memory of Lory Tansky, Visual Arts Teacher/Teacher Leader at The Sayles School of Fine Arts (at Schenectady High School), who died this fall. Tansky was a ceramicist, and the award will recognize excellence in the 3-D category. Tansky worked continuously and tirelessly since the Regional's conception nine years ago to provide high school students this collaborative and ambitious opportunity to show their work.
There will also be four to five additional Jurors' Choice Awards in the Regional. All award-winners receive a $25 gift certificate to Arlene's Artist Materials in Albany, N.Y.
The opening reception is Sunday, March 19, from 2 to 4 p.m. Guest speaker Sheldon Hurst will give a gallery talk at 3 p.m. followed by the Jurors' Awards Presentation.
College Park Hall is located at 450 Nott Street in Schenectady, N.Y., one block west of the main campus of Union College. Exhibit hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, Monday through Sunday.