Sept. 6, 2005 –– Alexander’s Bella Blu in Frenchtown is once again home to the annual "School of Visual Arts and Careers Student Show," an exhibit of original watercolors, mixed media, linoleum prints, and pastels completed this year by students enrolled in the non-profit after school and summer program.
An opening meet-the-artists reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday.
More than 50 pieces of artwork created by 10 School of Visual Arts students will be presented in the 2005 show. The original works of art are a comprehensive look at the skills and talents displayed by all of the students in the program, organizer Clair Ochoa, said in a release.
The exhibit will "give the students the experience of exhibiting and selling their work," Ochoa said. The individual students receive the proceeds from the sale of their work. Prices of the matted originals range from $60 to $95.
The School of Visual Arts and Careers was 1983 for high school students interested in pursuing a career in the visual arts. The program has provided hundreds of students from the Virgin Islands the artistic and professional experience required for admission into art programs in colleges and universities in the United States and abroad. Under the supervision of Program Director Phebe Schwartz Davis, the SVAC has acquired and managed the funds it has received from The National Endowment of the Arts (NEA), Virgin Islands Council on the Arts (VICA), other Virgin Islands granting agencies, as well as corporate and private donations.
Students attend the program after school from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Instructors Edie P. Johnson and David Hill, a graduate of the program, engage the students in a curriculum that begins with intense drawing and moves into a broad spectrum of media.
The program is held at Charlotte Amalie High School through the generosity of the administration, and art educators Edney Freeman and Sue Edwards, Ochoa said. Participating students for the 2005 show come from a home school program, Antilles, Charlotte Amalie High School, and Ivanna Eudora Kean High School. Students or parents of students interested in the program are encouraged to attend the opening reception or contact Phebe Schwartz Davis at 775-2739 or Edie P. Johnson at 776-5179 for more information. The show will continue through Nov. 3 and is open to the public.
To preview the exhibit go to www.GalleryStThomas.com.For more information call Gallery St. Thomas at 777.6363. The exhibit is open to the public.