Usdan Student Artwork on Display

Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts, announces the Long Island opening of its free public art exhibit: First Class, the inaugural show of works by students of Usdan’s 2011 Portfolio Preparation Track, presented at the Atrium at Tilles Center for the Performing Arts from March 8-22

It will be open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. and later on Tilles Center performance evenings on the weekend. There will be a closing reception on March 22 at 6 PM. The exhibit will be moving from its Manhattan exhibit at The Lobby Gallery on Park Avenue in Manhattan, where it ran January 24 - March 7.

Previous exhibits by students in the program (formerly titled the Usdan Honors Art Intensive) have been presented at major public venues in New York City and on Long Island.  For more information, call Usdan Center at (631) 643-7900, write to info@usdan.com, or visit http://www.usdan.com
 
First Class features 6 of Long Island's talented high school grade artists, each showing works that highlight their conceptual and artistic depth. Genres include life drawing, still life, self-portrait, landscape, photography, and sculpture. 

The artists are: Jessica Boyd of Shreiber High School, Manhasset; Jessica Curry of Deer Park High School, Deer Park; Denise Losee of Mepham High School, North Merrick; Emily Rabinowitz of Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School, Old Bethpage; Nicole Wildstein of Jericho High School, Jericho; and Julie Zeitoun of Jericho High School, Jericho.

Tilles Center, a premier concert hall, located on the Long Island University C.W. Post campus, has long hosted exhibits in its public spaces by faculty and students of the C.W. Post Art Dept., students from local schools and professional artists.
 
Usdan's Portfolio Preparation Track combines rigorous development of technique and on-site explorations of art history with advice from some of the most prestigious art colleges in the country. This selective program offers dedicated art students an intensive seven-week course designed to build their skills and encourage their vision. The result is a stronger portfolio as students prepare for college and beyond. This exhibit showcases the results of their efforts.
 
The program is taught by Derek Mainhart, an art teacher at Long Island colleges including Molloy, Hofstra, and Boricua.  He has been a member of Usdan Center’s art faculty for seven years. Rochelle Morgan, Chair of Usdan’s Visual Arts Department, worked with Mainhart to develop thePortfolio Preparation Track. Morgan teaches art at Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School.