February 15, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, please contact:

Tina Lehman, SAMA-Johnstown Coordinator

(814) 269-7234
Travis Mearns, Public Relations Coordinator

(724) 238-6015

STUDENT ART EXHIBITION RETURNS TO SAMA MUSEUMS 

            Loretto – The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art will continue its tradition of celebrating the works of talented young artists with the return of Artists of the 21^st Century, the Museum’s annual student art exhibition. Nearly 400 student-created works will be on view in the month-long exhibition. Artists of the 21^st Century will be on view at SAMA-Loretto from February 23 through March 25, and at SAMA-Ligonier Valley from March 9 through April 8.

            The exhibition, held in conjunction with National Youth Art Month and the State Arts-in-Education Month, is open to any school that participates in SAMA’s Museum/School Partnership Program. Through the program, SAMA educators travel to public and parochial schools to provide Arts-in-Education programs designed to enhance students’ understanding of art creation, technique, history, criticism, and aesthetics. The award-winning program is the largest of its kind in the Commonwealth.

            Approximately 500 students will be represented in the two exhibitions. Schools in Westmoreland and Fayette counties will be exhibited at SAMA-Ligonier Valley, while schools in Cambria, Bedford, Blair and Somerset counties will be featured in the Loretto exhibition. Each Museum will hold an opening reception to celebrate the exhibition and our student artists. The SAMA-Loretto reception will be held from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 4. SAMA-Ligonier Valley’s reception is scheduled for 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 11. Please note that parking for the Ligonier Valley reception is available at Fort Ligonier only, with free shuttles running back and forth to the Museum. The receptions are open to the public, but the Museum requests a $1 donation per person in support of the exhibition.  

            SAMA Education Administrator Tina Lehman said the student art exhibition, now in its ninth year, provides a special opportunity for children to see their work hanging in a Museum, along with full museum text panels. “This exhibition has proven to be a great opportunity for students in SAMA’s six-county service region to showcase their creativity and talent, and this year’s show promises to be one of the best yet,” she said. “It’s a great experience for the students to create original art and then to see it displayed in a museum setting. Their reactions are just priceless, and I hope everyone can come out and support them and their amazing talent.”

            Approximately 20 districts and 60 schools are participating in the student art exhibition. Each school is permitted to submit 20 individual projects and two group projects. Schools represented in the Loretto exhibition include: Altoona Area High School; Bishop McCort High School; Blacklick Valley Elementary Center and Junior/Senior High School; Cambria Heights Elementary School; Central Cambria Middle and High schools; Cambria Elementary School; East Side Elementary School; Ferndale Area Junior/Senior High School; Foot of Ten Elementary School; Forest Hills Middle and High schools; Greater Johnstown Middle and High schools; Hollidaysburg Area Junior High School; Indiana Senior High School; Jackson Elementary School; Northern Bedford Middle and High schools; Northern Cambria Elementary, Middle and High schools; Richland Elementary, Middle and High schools; Roosevelt Junior High School; Windber Area High School; Blair/Cambria Homeschool Group; and Penn-Mont Academy.

            Schools participating in the SAMA-Ligonier Valley exhibition include: Baggaley Elementary School; Bovard Elementary School; Christ the Divine Teacher School; East Hempfield Elementary School; Fort Allen Elementary School; Greater Latrobe Junior and Senior High schools; Greensburg Salem Middle and High schools; Harrold Middle School; Hempfield Senior High School; Holy Trinity School; Hutchinson Elementary School; Jeannette McKee Middle School; Latrobe Elementary School; Laurel Valley Elementary and Middle School; Laurel Valley Middle/Senior High School; Ligonier Valley High School; Maxwell Elementary School; Metzgar Elementary School; Mt. View Elementary School; Nicely Elementary School; R.K. Mellon Elementary School; Stanwood Elementary School; Valley School of Ligonier; Wendover Middle School; West Hempfield Elementary and Middle schools; and West Point Elementary School.

            Each of the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art’s four locations – Altoona, Johnstown, Ligonier Valley and Loretto – are open to the public free of charge. Hours of operation at the Ligonier Valley and Loretto facilities are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. weekends. For more information, visit www.sama-art.org or call Tina Lehman, Education Administrator, at (814) 269-7234.