High School Artists Showcased at Frick Center Gallery; Reception Will be Held Jan. 11

Elmhurst College is celebrating young artists from across the Chicago area with its annual high school art exhibition at the Frick Center's Founders Lodge. In its 13th year, the exhibit has seen few changes—although budget constraints at the high schools have resulted in fewer admissions this year.

Hundreds of works were submitted by 10 high schools in every medium: painting, print, sculpture, video and computer art, photography and more.

While some schools will show work from 40 to 50 students, other schools are scaling back their efforts because of budget cuts to their art programs, said Suellen Rocca, director of exhibits at Elmhurst College.

“It makes having our art exhibit even more important because it highlights and supports high school art departments, visual-arts educators and the work of their students,” she said.

In addition to York, the high schools represented are Addison Trail, East and West Leyden, Lyons Township, Maine West, Morton East and West, Proviso West and Willowbrook.

Over the course of the exhibition, students are invited to visit the college’s art studios and tour its renowned collection of Chicago imagist and abstractionist art. The college also will award several $2,000 scholarships to students from each high school.

“We support the importance of access to visual art in our schools,” Rocca said. “In this era of cutbacks in arts education, we want to make the strongest statement possible about how essential art is to human development.”

The exhibit opened on Jan. 5 and will run through Jan. 18. A reception for the artists will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 11.

Both the exhibition and the reception are free and open to the public. The Frick Center is open days and evenings.