Academy, high school art show comes to Brandstater Gallery

There will be an opening reception and awards ceremony on Sat., April 23 from 7:30 – 9 p.m. and a gallery opening on Sun., April 24 from 12 -- 3 p.m. The participating institutions will be La Sierra Academy, Norte Dame High School, and Orangewood Academy.

Each of the schools will exhibit up to 20 art pieces. The art teachers at the participating schools and academies are given the responsibility of picking what pieces will be displayed at the show and are also encouraged to provide a variety of media.

“The teachers know the range of work and the quality of work better than anyone else,” said Timothy Musso, Brandstater Gallery director.

The schools' high school students are eligible to be featured. When the artwork is installed at the gallery, the teachers and at least two of their students are asked to assist and learn the proper technique for gallery installation and lighting.

The Art+Design faculty and graduating La Sierra University Art+Design majors, Crystal Chavez and Nathan Oles, and Junio Grace Saunders will judge the work on exhibition and announce and hand out the awards. The award prizes will be art supplies and will be given to the artists of the six best works on exhibit. The department will also offer $500 scholarships to any of the senior students who enroll at La Sierra as Art+Design majors during the fall 2016 term.

"This is the second year the Art + Design department has hosted this exhibition. This event is intended to give high school and academy students the opportunity to network and gain the experience of having their work in a public exhibition. Having your artwork displayed in a gallery gives value to the work and creates an important visual conversation between the artwork and the viewer,” said Musso."

The department also uses this event to share the Art + Design facilities and program with everyone and build community, he said. “Creating a larger creative community is important because so much of what determines success as an artist is one's ability to communicate both visually, and person-to-person through conversation and dialogue about the artwork itself,” says Musso.

Admission to the exhibition and reception is free. For more information, you can call (951) 785-2170 or e-mail art@lasierra.edu. For a calendar of other upcoming events at Brandstater Gallery, visit https://lasierra.edu/brandstater/. La Sierra University is located at 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside. A campus map is available at https://lasierra.edu/campus-map/.