Celebration of youth culture slated at Montgomery arts center

   In celebration of Youth Art Month, an exhibition of work by local high school students, titled "Express Yourself — The Culture of Our Generation," will be held at the Montgomery Center for the Arts from Feb. 18 through March 25. An opening reception, to which the public is invited, will be held on Friday, Feb. 18, from 6 to 9 p.m.
   The exhibition is a collaboration between the Montgomery Center for the Arts and the National Arts Honor Society from Montgomery High School. The National Art Education Association began the National Art Honor Society program in 1978, specifically for high school students, for the purpose of inspiring and recognizing those students who have shown an outstanding ability in art.
   Special events surrounding the exhibition will begin on Thursday, Feb. 17, with a full day of visual art workshops given by professional working artists involved with the MCA. Students from Montgomery High School will be invited to participate in the workshops, creating the pieces that will be hung in the 1860 House galleries for the month-long exhibition.
   Also Thursday, from 7 to 9 p.m., the MCA will engage an outside juror to judge a poetry slam. Students from Montgomery High School and surrounding high schools are encouraged to compete in the slam with their original poetry. Video artists from Montgomery High School will be documenting Thursday’s workshops and poetry slam, and will be creating a video for viewing during the opening exhibition on Friday evening.
   Friday’s activities will begin with the installation of the pieces produced in Thursday’s workshops, as well as finalized works of art created by members of the National Arts Honor Society. Friday evening’s opening exhibition will be open to the public. Not only will attendees have the opportunity to enjoy the exhibit, they will be treated to an ongoing video of Thursday’s events, as well as performances by Daisy Haze and Young Musicians for Volunteer Action, local bands from Montgomery High School.
   Marsha Levin Rojer, chairman of the MCA’s exhibition committee, said "the arts are incredibly important vehicles for young people to express their complex feelings and thoughts about the world in which they live. We are proud that MCA is giving young people an opportunity to be heard."
   The following students are members of the Montgomery High School chapter of the National Art Honor Society: Nancy Chu, president; Katherine Farina, vice president; Alisandra Wederich, vice president; Maggie Hare, treasurer; Scott Kalison, coordinator of awards and ceremonies; Michael Amato; Sergio Del Giudice; Kathryn Fox; Rachel Fredrickson; Jenny Katz; Hannah W. Kim; Sarah Massone; Rachel Pangia; Jennifer Plas; Sandy P. Shaw; Shannon Stephens, and Juliana White.
   There will be a $5 fee to cover costs of art supplies for the workshops. There is no charge for the poetry slam or the exhibition reception.
   The MCA is located in The 1860 House on Montgomery Road, just north of the intersection of Routes 206 and 518.
   For more information about the Arts Festival and the Montgomery Center for the Arts, call (609) 921-3272. On the Web: www.montgomerycenterforthearts.com.