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Local High School Student Art on Display in SUNY Potsdam Virtual Exhibit

Online Exhibition at The Art Museum at SUNY Potsdam Features Work From Five North Country School Districts

by Bret Yager

Potsdam, NY (06/16/2020) — Creative, thoughtful and full of color, an online exhibit of art by St. Lawrence County high school students is featured in a virtual exhibition presented by The Art Museum at SUNY Potsdam. Three dozen pieces showcase the talent of 18 students from five local districts, and range from watercolor still life images to abstract acrylic and black and white photographic landscapes. All of the high schools in the county were invited to participate in the St. Lawrence County Annual High School Exhibition 2020.

"The annual high school show is representative of the best our county art students have accomplished throughout the year," said museum Director April Vasher-Dean. "This spring, COVID-19 forced us to change the parameters."

Featured are works from the following districts:

Students created the art at home while engaged in online courses, and the work serves in some cases to represent a changed and uncertain world, including one piece titled "Current World Situation," a colored marker painting showing a wide-eyed young girl behind a face mask, depicted with the spiky graphic elements used in the media to illustrate the COVID-19 virus. Other pieces show the world continuing, placid and unaltered.

"These works are innovative, beautiful and inspiring," said Vasher-Dean. "They demonstrate how visual art is a vital part of everyday life. We need these images now more than ever. I want to thank the teachers and students who participated."

The St. Lawrence County Annual High School Exhibition 2020 can be viewed here: https://bit.ly/3d3u6w9.

The Art Museum at SUNY Potsdam serves as the center for visual arts at the College, and encompasses all of the collections found throughout campus, including in the Gibson Gallery. The Museum is dedicated to the exhibition and interpretation of quality works of art, and its collection includes significant artworks from the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as earlier pieces. The mission of The Art Museum at The State University of New York at Potsdam is to make direct experience of the visual arts accessible to students, faculty, staff and alumni of the College, as well as to residents of Northern New York. To learn more, visit http://potsdam.edu/museum.

About SUNY Potsdam:

Founded in 1816, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America's first 50 colleges -- and the oldest institution within SUNY. Now in its third century, SUNY Potsdam is distinguished by a legacy of pioneering programs and educational excellence. The College currently enrolls approximately 3,600 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its challenging liberal arts and sciences core, distinction in teacher training and culture of creativity. To learn more, visit http://www.potsdam.edu.

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Media Attachments

“Old Tavern Site,” a black and white photograph by Annika McIntosh, is on display at the online St. Lawrence County Annual High School Exhibition 2020 at The Art Museum at SUNY Potsdam. Annika is a student at Parishville-Hopkinton Central School, where she studies under Ray Whalen.

“Untitled,” a watercolor by Kristen Crump, is on display at the online St. Lawrence County Annual High School Exhibition 2020 at The Art Museum at SUNY Potsdam. Kristen is a student at St. Lawrence Central School, where she studies under Timothy Brown.

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