BEAR CREEK - Artistic teens have been given a platform to display their works in an effort to encourage art education in local high schools.
Until April 27, Surrey Art Gallery is showcasing 52 art pieces by Surrey and White Rock students from 11 high schools, including Clayton Heights, Earl Marriott, Enver Creek, Fleetwood Park, Frank Hurt, Fraser Heights, Guildford Park, Johnston Heights, Kwantlen Park, Queen Elizabeth and Sullivan Heights secondary schools.The students each provided artist statements with their works, describing the inspiration behind their creations and the techniques they used to develop such evocative pieces."I was inspired by Pablo Picasso's quote, 'God is really only another artist. He made the giraffe, elephant and the cat. He just goes on trying other things,'" wrote Apaar Chahal, who made a graphite drawing of an elephant titled "Beauty of the Tusk.""This drawing is a symbol that everything that God has created is all beautiful, nothing is ugly."Leah Vandermeer-Huynh, an Art 11 student at Guildford Park Secondary, noted that her acrylic painting, titled "Perfection within Paradise," was "inspired by imagination, fantasy and the positive atmosphere resonating from a close group of friends.""The theme is based on the idea of living in those perfect moments most wish to never forget," she wrote of her utopian artwork.The art pieces - including drawings, paintings, collages and photographs - are designed to generate social commentary, study the human spirit, provoke personal reflection or simply symbolize an emotion, thought or idea.The annual exhibit is developed by the SAG in partnership with the Surrey school district and the Surrey Art Teachers Association. The display is a component of the school district's annual Fine Arts Festival des Beaux-Arts, which recognizes the importance of arts programming in Surrey schools."Art education is an essential part of our creative and intellectual development," said the art gallery in a statement. "The experiences obtained through the processes of art - from the original idea through to the realization of the work of art - assist us in our perception of, and response to, the world around us."Through art, students are able to develop their creative, cognitive, reasoning, and technical abilities while at the same time learn new ways to express themselves and communicate with others."The exhibit is in the lobby of the gallery, located at 13750 88th Ave. Admission is free. For more information, call the art gallery at 604-501-5566 or visit surrey. ca/artgallery.jzinn@thenownewspaper.com