Room 201 of the Huber Arts Center Annex was lit up with the brilliant and creative artistic works of local high school juniors and seniors from Nov. 6 – 19. Sixty of the best high school artists in select counties across Pennsylvania and Maryland were chosen to have their artwork displayed in Shippensburg University’s third annual Scholastic 144 Art Exhibition.

Scholastic 144 accepted submissions in 10 categories in order to give students the opportunity to express themselves without restraint. The categories included ceramic and glass, design, digital art, drawing, jewelry, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture.

While Scholastic 144 is an art exhibit that is composed entirely of student artwork, students were not permitted to personally submit their work to be considered for the art exhibit. The students’ high school art teacher had to register with Scholastic 144 and submit a photograph of the artwork online by Oct. 1. Upon registration, each teacher was eligible to submit up to five pieces of student artwork.

Exhibition judges James Goucher, an art teacher at Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy, and Donna Hetrick, an art teacher at Barack Obama Academy of International Studies, critiqued the pieces and selected which ones would be displayed in the art exhibit.

However, having their artwork displayed in SU’s Huber Arts Center was not the only thing up for grabs for students participating in Scholastic 144. Following a second round of judging by the exhibition awards committee, which was composed of SU’s art and design faculty, $1,000 in prizes were given out to the artworks selected for Best of Exhibit, Second Place and Third Place.

A ceramic bowl by Casey Quinn of Upper Darby High School in Pennsylvania won $500 and the title “Best of Exhibit.” A sculpture by Alyssa Lewis and a photograph by Kennedy Todd of Linganore High School in Maryland won the second place award of $300 and the third place award of $200, respectively. Multiple honorable mentions and participation certificates were awarded to students as well.

With specific hours set aside for viewing the exhibit and personal call-in appointments available, many people passed through to take in the visually appealing, artistic creativity that Scholastic 144 had to offer. With a variety of different artistic mediums accepted into the exhibition, each piece told its own story and demonstrated that creativity and self-expression radiates differently for everyone.

According to director of the Kauffman Gallery, Michael Campbell, Scholastic 144 has continually produced a very positive experience for many high school students, art teachers and parents over the last three years.

Campbell encourages students to be creative and pursue art, and for local art teachers to strive to involve their students in the exhibit in the future. Scholastic 144 drives creativity while also producing healthy competition and a chance to win great prizes. 

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