By Chris Drost

The art students at North Hastings High School have been busy making art the past few months and are excited to exhibit it for all to enjoy at A Place for the Arts starting March 31.

“Communications…What are you saying? is a sampling of work that students grade 9 to 12 have created throughout the year. Some were created as independent pieces while others were part of an assignment,” says teacher and fellow artist, Andrew Edgar.

By working with themes, the students develop an understanding that art can be used as a communication tool to express ideas and concepts that might otherwise have to be relayed through words.

“Some pieces have been created to communicate ideas, alternate juxtapositions, social issues and personal expressions. By using structures like the elements and principles of art/design, we achieve a common practice and language giving students and the teacher a framework to create pieces that potentially communicate ideas,” adds Edgar.

The opening reception for the show is March 31 at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome.

The student exhibition is the first of a full line-up of monthly shows for 2023.

May – Because I Can - Robert Pearson, artist, poet and long-time co-writer of the Northern Lights Writers' Group

June – Artists from the Bancroft Studio Tour – a sneak peek and an opportunity to purchase work by the artists on the 2023 Bancroft Studio tour

July – The Colour Factory – Manuela Schmidlechner - an acrylic or oil painter who finds inspiration from colours, shimmering light and textures that are found in nature and man-made structures

August – Wild Women, Painters of the Wilderness – Linda Sorensen, Kathy M. Haycock, Joyce Burkholder – three professional artists who paint, travel and exhibit their work together, sharing their interpretations of beauty, fragility and awe of the Algonquin area wilderness

September – Ontario's Four Seasons – Anne Young and Marilyn Bishop – share the beauty of Ontario's four seasons through watercolour and oils

October – Resinate – Tricia van Oostvee – art offering a new contemporary landscape of experience and relationship to texture, colour, and light in an attempt to connect to emotions related to the natural and spiritual world around us

November – Highlands En Plein Air – Third Annual Exhibition – artists of the Plein Air Group that meets most Thursday afternoons at 1 p.m. at locations throughout the region

For more information and details about reception times and current hours of operation, visit https://www.apfta.ca