PULASKI – March is Youth Art Month, and the Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley is celebrating young artists and their teachers through two concurrent exhibits of youth art.
The first exhibit in the Edna B. Love Gallery, located in the Fine Arts Center, contains winning pieces from across Southwest Virginia in the Scholastic Art Awards. The awards, offered annually, not only provide an opportunity for students to win awards for their art but also gives them the chance to have their work displayed publicly with the top winners moving on to the national competition. The winning art is also available on the Fine Arts Center’s website in an online gallery.
The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards are the country’s longest-running and most prestigious scholarship and recognition programs for creative students in grades 7–12 and are sponsored by the nonprofit organization, the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers. At the national level, students compete for more than $37,000 in scholarships from the alliance and may have an opportunity to have their art displayed in New York or in a national exhibit. The national winners were announced on March 17, and Southwest Virginia winners will be recognized at an awards ceremony at the Pulaski Theatre on March 27 at 3 p.m.
In addition to the Scholastic Awards, each March the Fine Arts Center honors art from students of all ages that is submitted by area art teachers. This year the center is once again displaying over 100 pieces of student art in the windows of nearby local businesses along Main Street as well as at the Pulaski County Library, located at 60 Third Street NW.
“We enjoy hearing many appreciative comments from people who pass by the window displays, sharing the fine work our students create and the dedication of the art teachers who are helping them develop their art skills,” said Becky Latucca, the Fine Arts Center’s executive director.
Visitors to downtown can view the Scholastic Award-winning pieces during the gallery’s open hours, but much of the Youth Art Month display is viewable any time. The shows run through the end of March.
The Fine Arts Center is located at 21 West Main St. in historic downtown Pulaski. The center is supported, in part, by funding from the Town of Pulaski, Pulaski County, the C. E. Richardson Benevolent Foundation, the Randolph Foundation, the Virginia Commission for the Arts, and through membership and donations. For more information about the Fine Arts Center and to view other events or to sign up for a class, visit their website at FACNRV.org.
