Peterborough, NH -- An exhibit titled “Coming of Age: Monadnock Teens” will open April 30 at the Sharon Arts Center Gallery, 30 Grove St., Peterborough, and run through May 12.

Featured in the exhibit will be art work from participants in the Sharon Arts Center Art Access portfolio development program as well as work by student artists from local high schools including ConVal, Mascenic, Keene, Dublin, and Conant.

The Art Access program at Sharon Arts is designed for high school students who are interested in increased exposure to and experience in the visual arts. Throughout the school year students meet weekly to explore technical and theoretical aspects of art and career paths and to investigate their creative potential while strengthening their portfolios. They also meet with artists and craftspeople, curators, gallerists, and other art professionals and take field trips to museums, galleries and studios throughout the region.

“With the knowledge and hand-on experience gained from Art Access,” says School director Alexandra Wall, “students are able to effectively build and present their portfolios with peers and artists they meet along the way. We also encourage them to participate in community volunteer projects that will contribute to increasing awareness of the importance of art in our community. This collaborative exhibit is the group’s final project--they design invitations, write publicity, frame their work, and install the whole show. It’s a wonderful end to the year.”

In addition to the Art Access students, area teachers were invited to select work from five of their students to represent their schools. “This exhibit is an important part of our commitment to youth and teen programming in the downtown space,” said Gallery Director Camellia Sousa. “Furthermore, it is an opportunity for area students to have an authentic gallery showcasing experience.”

Hours at the gallery are 10 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday and 11 am to 5 pm on Sunday. For more information call (603) 924-7676 and see www.sharonarts.org.

The mission of Sharon Arts Center, a non-profit organization, is to engage the community in the artistic process, to support and serve artists and craftspeople, and to foster the relationship between artists and the community through education, exhibitions, and the promotion and sale of arts and crafts as well as through special programs and events.

Sharon Arts center offers a wide variety of art classes and programs in the school facility in Sharon, NH as well as a Fine Craft Gallery, a Juried Artist Member Gallery, and an Exhibition Gallery in Peterborough, NH.

The Sharon Arts Exhibition Gallery is accessed through Depot Square and 30 Grove St. in downtown Peterborough. The Craft Gallery is located in Depot Square in Downtown Peterborough. Store and Exhibition Gallery hours are: Monday - Saturday 10 am to 6 pm, Sunday 11 - 5 pm.

The Sharon Arts Center is supported in part by: the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, The Arthur L. Getz Charitable Trust, The Bean Family Foundation, Cogswell Benevolent Trust, The Gilbert Verney Foundation,The Grimshaw-Gudewicz Charitable Foundation, The Jack & Dorothy Byrne Foundation, The Kingsbury Fund, The Lizzie Cheney Charitable Trust,The Parker-Nelson Foundation, The Samuel P. Hunt Foundation, The Susan A. & Donald P. Babson Charitable Foundation, The Putnam Foundation, and art lovers like YOU!

Photo ID: Sharon Arts Center Art Access teens do glass with instructor Janet Duchesneau. From left to right: Gillan Doty, Anna Welch, Ameera Sylvian

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