Penticton

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

Student artwork

For much of the school year, the art rooms in Penticton area secondary schools are beehives of activity.

Now the public will get the opportunity to see the paintings, sculptures, ceramics and other art pieces that have been produced.

On Friday, Eclectic Circus, the exhibit featuring student artworks, opens at the Penticton Art Gallery.

“It’s nice to have the kids work out there, so the community can see what they do and how talented they are,” said Penticton Secondary School art teacher Dawn Richards.

The exhibit is one of the gallery’s annual partnerships.

It will feature artwork by about 35 to 50 grade 9 through 12 visual arts students from Penticton Secondary, Princess Margaret Secondary and Summerland Secondary.
Other teachers involved are Brad Gibson from Princess Margaret and Donna Cowles from Summerland Secondary.

Gibson said the exhibit will promote talented individuals with a wide range of skills and abilities, who once the show is over will pack up their  props and move on to the next audience.

Paul F. Crawford, director/curator of the gallery, said he looks forward to the exhibit every year.

“It’s an insight into the kids’ world, and it is kind of neat to see where they are at,” he said. “And it’s so nice to see friends and family come down to validate what the students are doing.”

The reception for Eclectic Circus will take place from 7 to 9 p.m., Friday, March 22 at the gallery. It is free and open to the public. The exhibit will run until May 5.

A second exhibit, Terroir: Physically Speaking, which celebrates the region’s visual arts community, is opening at the gallery the same day.