March is National Youth Art Month, and Patrick County students will display their creativity at two local venues: the county library and the Reynolds Homestead.
Student artwork will be on display from March 1 though the end of April at the Patrick County Branch Library. Grace Helms, art teacher at Stuart and at Meadows of Dan elementary schools, will host a reception with light refreshments and live music at the library on March 7 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. to celebrate the show. The public is invited.
For more information, please call the library at (276) 694-3352.
Also, the second annual student art show opens Sunday, March 5, at the Reynolds Homestead. This exhibition showcases artwork produced by students during the past year and gives students the opportunity to participate in a professional exhibition where a qualified judge awards ribbons of distinction and $600 in cash prizes.
Open to eighth- through 12th-graders in Patrick, Henry, Franklin, Henry, Stokes and Surry counties, the show features four categories: painting, drawing, photography and three-dimensional.
In addition to the cash prizes, the show’s judge, Jan Atkins of Mt. Airy, will award Merit Awards for students who didn’t place, but whose work shows great promise.
Students in grades six and seven may participate in the Emerging Artists Show, which is not judged, but allows middle-school students the opportunity to show their work.
The show’s participation has nearly doubled from last year, said senior program manager Lisa Martin. “The talent in this area is amazing, and we are pleased to have a venue where students can be encouraged and their artwork appreciated by the general public,” she said.
A reception and awards ceremony will be held Sunday, March 5, at 3 p.m. The public is invited. Refreshments will be served.