Student art exhibitions are again opening to the public at the Lawrence House Center for the Arts and Gallery in the Grove.
The galleries in 2020 and 2021 offered virtual spaces for the annual Lambton County Student Art and Fast Forward shows respectively, said Susan VanVeldhuisen, a Northern Collegiate Institute & Vocational School art teacher and one of about 13 art teachers with the seven schools taking part.
“This is our first year back in person,” she said. “The kids get to show in a real gallery space, so it’s really exciting for us.”
The Student Art Show for grades 9 to 12 has a history dating back 50 years in the community, including with the former Gallery Lambton, and has been at the Lawrence House at least a half-dozen years, VanVeldhuisen said.
The about 75-piece Gallery in the Grove Fast Forward exhibition running May 14 to June 4 is for students in grades 11 and 12, and is expected to be similar, she said.
“If people want to see what’s going on in the minds of the youth and what they are expressing, this is an amazing show to see,” VanVeldhuisen said about the concurrent gallery exhibits.
Giving high school students the opportunity to display their artwork publicly in a gallery helps build their confidence, she said.
“I can’t say enough about it to be honest.”
Secondary schools taking part include Northern Collegiate, Alexander Mackenzie, Lambton Central Collegiate & Vocational Institute, North Lambton, Franco-Jeunesse, St. Patrick’s, and Saint-François-Xavier.
The Lawrence House exhibit runs until May 26.
“The artwork on display is frequently bright and bold, sometimes challenging, definitely creative, and most importantly the creative voice of the young, emerging artist in our schools,” a press release from the Lawrence House reads.