The first in a series about local artists and events

Usually each Benzie County elementary, middle and high school has its own art fair, and the only people who get to see our young artists at work are their teachers and families. But once a year, during the Regional Student Exhibition, the best K-12 art in the county is showcased at the Oliver Art Center in Frankfort.

The gala opening for this year’s exhibition is Friday, April 18, from 5-7 p.m. High school submissions will be judged, and 12 Awards of Excellence will be presented at 6:15 p.m. Fourteen categories of artistic media are allowed, from drawing, painting, and photography to fiber arts, sculpture, and furniture, film, and digital art. All high school work will be included in the show, but only original works — those not copied from other original works such as magazines, masterpieces, and advertisements — are eligible for the Awards of Excellence.

“This is a celebration of creativity,” says Oliver Art Center executive director Steve Brown. “It’s a testament to the hard work of all of our local art teachers. A good art teacher can make a student look at the world differently for the rest of their life.”

Jurors are ceramic artist Schyler Binkley (www.schylerbinkley.com), co-owner of Daybreak Gallery & Studios in Manistee, and Leland multimedia artist and art teacher Daniel Lisuk, whose work “The Birth of Steel” — acrylic on canvas, with wood, steel, milkweed and tar — is featured on the Grand Rapids ArtPrize website.

Entries will be judged on their creativity, originality and execution. Lisuk says he looks for thought, for depth, and for quality of technique in any show that he judges, whether the artists are students or adults. Lisuk, who taught art for 32 years in Traverse City, says it’s “an honor to be asked” to serve as a juror for this year’s exhibition.

“I’m excited to see what the kids have done,” he says. “A teacher is a person who passes on culture.”

This student exhibition, the only one of its kind in Northern Michigan, is a way for the community to celebrate the good work our art students and art teachers do throughout the year.

Student artwork will hang from April 18 through May 16. Stop by to cast your vote for the People’s Choice Award. Popular majority will determine which artwork will be featured on Oliver Art Center’s summer t-shirt (the winner will be announced at the Center’s annual open house, June 27-29).

Featured image, top of the page: This incredible cat drawing by Elijah Hoxley was featured at the 2013 exhibit at the Oliver Art Center. See what’s on display this year from April 18-May 16. Photo by Aubrey Ann Parker.

See more on their website: http://oliverartcenterfrankfort.org/.

Find more events at Benzie-Calendar.com