26 Burlington Artists to Participate in Annual Show

Art classes in Burlington schools produce many pieces by talented students that are unlikely to see the outside of the school or students’ homes. This month, however, 26 Burlington students will see their work displayed in a gallery. Arlington Center for the Arts is hosting their third annual teen art show. Students from Burlington, Lexington, Arlington and Belmont will exhibit their pieces for the next month.

Every year, the theme of the show is related to identity. This year’s theme is “Who Am I?” and students’ pieces connect to that theme. Adria Arch is the Education Director at the center, and has found success among students with the identity theme.

“We choose it every year because it’s close to teenage sensibilities,” she said. “Exploration of self is a common theme in middle school and high school art classes.”

Teachers are told about the show at the beginning of the school year and pass the information along to the students. Photography, ceramics, paintings, drawings and mixed media art are included in the show. It began at the center with a desire to give students a place to show their artwork outside of the classroom. Three years ago, when Arlington Center for the Arts held their first teen exhibit, Arch found it was difficult to get students to submit work on their own. Last year and this year, she relied on teachers to recruit students for the show and has seen a big increase in submissions.

“Many of the students aren’t sure their work is good enough, and teachers help by pushing them to submit pieces,” Arch said.

Last year’s exhibit saw a huge turnout from both artists and gallery visitors. Three artists will be featured, the high school will contribute the work of 23 students. Christina Chang helps organize ’s participation in the show.

“It’s exciting for the students, and for a lot of them it’s the first time they’re being featured in a gallery,” Chang said.

“We encourage all of the students to participate and work with them to select their best pieces.”

Chang has found that the art department doesn’t have to push for work that relates to the theme. Students naturally produce art that relates to how they see themselves, no matter what the medium.

“The students are always dealing with identity,” she said.

The show will officially kick off this Friday, February 11th. A reception and awards ceremony will be held from 7 to 8 p.m.. Awards are chosen based on creativity and an original take on the theme.

This week, the gallery will be open, though the exhibit won’t be complete until the reception. After Friday, the exhibit is open to the public until March 11th. You can visit and see Burlington’s contributions Monday through Friday, 9am-5pm, or by appointment.

For directions to the gallery, click here.

The Burlington artists who will be featured are:

From Marshall Simonds Middle School: Erin Martin, Corey Forester and Praveen Menon.

From Burlington High School: Sarah Boari, Alex Botnar, Lauren Boyle, Caroline Brill, Kiana Dimatteo, Devon Doherty, Nikki Flemming, Meghan Girouard, Rachel Glynn, Kelly Howe, Sharon Kim, Christine Mannetta, Kiersten Merlino, Takunda Muzembe, Yasmeen Osman, Toula Papadopoulos, Clifford Pierre-Louis, Andrew Silva, Tali Singer, Brittany Ralph, Nicole Ritchie, Amanda Roth and Jake Ursino.