Teen Angst, Art And Healing: West Orange Students’ Work On Display

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of the West Orange Arts Council. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.

The West Orange Arts Council (WOAC) in partnership with the Visual and Performing Arts Program at West Orange High School (WOHS) presents the work of Advanced Placement Studio Art students Calixta Cempron, Aaron Latchman, Axel Mantilla Correa, Anna Shelley, Ezra Simon, Kayden Tilus, Catherine Topps, Christopher Valere and Rocky Zeppa.

The exhibit runs from Saturday, March 11 through Saturday, April 2, 2023, at the West Orange Arts Center, 551 Valley Road, West Orange, New Jersey. WOAC Gallery and Gift Shop hours are Saturdays from 11am-4pm, Sundays from Noon-3pm and by appointment. The community is invited to an artists’ reception on Saturday, March 18, from 1-3pm.

The students collectively arrived at the WOAC gallery in early March along with Advanced Placement Art Teacher, Heather Young and were met by WOAC Board members Lois Condon and Lisa Suss to install their exhibit.

“Our students look forward to this their first gallery show," says Young. "It gives them an opportunity to learn about gallery administration and the business side of an art career, in addition to enhancing their college application process.”

This is the seventh year of the collaboration among WOHS Visual and Performing Arts Director Louis Quagliato and WOAC Board Member Lisa Suss, who is also the Visual Arts Manager at the JCC MetroWest Gaelen Art Galleries and docent at this year’s New Jersey Jewish Film Festival in conjunction with “From Darkness to Light” Mosaics Inspired by Tragedy in memory of the victims and survivors of the 2018 Pittsburgh Tree of Life shooting.

The WOHS Arts Program offers a variety of visual and aesthetic art courses designed for personal enrichment or in preparation for an art-related career. Students are required to complete two semesters of foundation courses before proceeding to Advanced Placement Studio Art, producing portfolios for college admission and earning up to six advanced placement college credits.

"West Orange as a whole is an incredibly talented community as these young artists demonstrate,” states WOAC chair Patricia Mitrano. “This exhibit gives us the opportunity to support and celebrate our rising stars in the art world.”

The West Orange Arts Council mission is to cultivate, inspire, and support the arts in West Orange. Area artists and community leaders remain the core of this all-volunteer organization that operates the West Orange Arts Center Gallery and Gift Shop at 551 Valley Road, West Orange, NJ. For more info visit www.woarts.org, www.facebook.com/woac.org or call 862-500-1918.

This program is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts and administered by the Essex County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs.

Don’t forget to visit the Patch West Orange Facebook page. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here.