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Displaying unique creations isn’t rare for the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts (LCVA). In fact, it’s pretty much their standard operating procedure. Sunday, June 18 marked the opening of their latest project, one that features student art contributions from across the region. 

On Sunday, the annual Area Youth Art Exhibition kicked off, featuring more than 1,800 pieces involving students from Pre-K all the way to 12th grade. Considered one of the largest celebrations of student art in Virginia, this year’s program had a theme of “Start with Art, Learn for Life”. 

Students from 32 public, private, and home schools in 11 counties, including Amelia, Appomattox, Buckingham, Charlotte, Chesterfield, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Powhatan, and Prince Edward are featured in the project. 

“Highlighting Virginia artists, no matter the age, is central to the LCVA’s mission,” said Alex Grabiec, the LCVA’s Curator of Exhibitions. “We are lucky to get to show over 1,800 works of art from the many talented student artists in our region. I’m always impressed with the talent from the artists and dedication from their teachers.”

The centerpiece of this year’s exhibition is an installation called Playful Patterns that is on display in the LCVA’s Main Street Gallery. This installation was created by over 840 students at Prince Edward County Elementary School with the help of their art teachers, Joy Utzinger and Jean Martin.

This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of its longtime sponsor

Southside Electric Cooperative, whose CEO offered a statement. 

“At Southside Electric Cooperative, we believe the future of our communities depends on the success of our youth,” said SEC President and CEO Jason Loehr. “SEC takes tremendous pride in supporting the 2023 Annual Area Youth Art Exhibition, as we view it as an opportunity to support and promote young artists from counties across our service area. The exhibition provides youth with a platform to showcase their work while contributing to the community and fostering creativity. Southside Electric Cooperative continues to power its communities and members through empowering the creativity of the many talented youth artists featured in this year’s exhibition.”

Now you can view these works anytime from now until August 6 during regular gallery hours. That’s Tuesday – Saturday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sunday 1- 5 p.m.