Provided by the Pennsbury School District:
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The AOY Art Center and the Pennsbury School District are proud to announce the return of the Pennsbury Art Majors Show.
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The public is invited to an opening reception Friday, March 25, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The show will continue Saturday and Sunday, March 26 to 27, and the following weekend, April 1 to 3. Gallery hours on the weekends are 12:00 to 5:00 pm.
The AOY Art Center is located on the Patterson Farm at 949 Mirror Lake Road in Lower Makefield Township.
This event showcases the work of up-and-coming young artists from Pennsbury High School. It will be juried by AOY members and established artists David Rivera and Marc Schimsky.
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Cash prizes generously donated by Fran Leyenberger in memory of Chris Leyenberger will be awarded to the students. Chris Leyenberger was a Pennsbury parent, Bucks County native, member of AOY, Boy Scouts of America leader, and a Lower Makefield Township community volunteer.
Best in Show will receive $600. First place will receive $400, second and third place will receive $300 and $250, respectively. Three Honorable Mention awards, valued at $100, will also be awarded.
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“After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, we are thrilled to be able to hold this show at AOY again,” said Ruth Anne Schultz, Pennsbury’s K-12 Art Curriculum Coordinator. “The last two years have definitely been challenging, and our students are ready to share their talents with the community. The district is thrilled to have this opportunity once again. We are so grateful for our partnership with AOY and the support they give our students.”
The AOY Art Center, a Pennsbury Partner, launched the student art show in 2017 to increase community exposure for the artwork of Pennsbury’s students and their teachers.
“AOY is so pleased to see this show return after the pandemic forced us to take the last two years off. It’s important to give young student artists the chance to showcase their work and receive feedback from professional artists within our community,” said Alison Smith, AOY president.
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Students gain real-world experience setting up a show and staffing a gallery with the support of experienced AOY artists. The show will feature a variety of artwork in different media.
“There are many moving parts to this show. Ruth Ann Schultz and Curtis May from Pennsbury have been instrumental in helping us pull it all together,” said Anne Gannon, AOY’s art show liaison.
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“The show is a true collaboration between AOY and the Pennsbury School District. We always look forward to seeing the different works the students submit. It’s refreshing to see their perspective,” said Bette Sovinee, AOY Art Center Coordinator.
About the Jurors:
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David Rivera studied drawing and painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art and also received an MFA at the New York Academy of Figurative Art. He has spent the past 22 years as an adjunct professor at Mercer County Community College. He is also a guest speaker and instructor for several local ateliers and schools, including Bucks County Community College’s Continuing Education Program and the AOY Art Center. Mr. Rivera works daily out of his home studio in Newtown creating everything from large-scale corporate portrait commissions to miniature single object renderings on paper.
Marc Schimsky received a BS degree in Art Education from the State University College at Buffalo, followed by an MFA from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY. He taught high school art for 35 years and served as ‘Art Instructional Specialist’ for the school district. In 1999, Schimsky was appointed by ETS (Educational Testing Service of the College Board) to serve as an AP Studio Art Exam “reader,” which he did for five years, subsequently becoming certified as an AP Faculty Consultant for the Middle States Regional Office of the College Board.
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From 2007 to 2008, Schimsky served as an AP Studio Art Curriculum Audit Reviewer and contributed articles to the AP Studio Art Teacher’s Guide & Professional Development Manual. Schimsky has conducted numerous AP Studio Art workshops and AP Summer Institutes for teachers throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. He presently teaches Printmaking at the AOY Art Center.
Schimsky is a recipient of the P. Buckley Moss Children’s Charities Foundation’s National Teacher of LD Students Award and the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation’s Power of Art Award.
In 2000, Schimsky received the Suffolk County Art Teacher of the Year Award from the Long Island Art Teachers’ Association. He also received the Louis E. Yavner Teaching Award from the New York State Board of Regents for outstanding contributions to teaching the Holocaust and other violations of human rights through the visual arts.
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