CHS students’ art displayed in touring exhibit

Photo Courtesy of James Manno
Pictured is a selection of art from the New Jersey State Teen Arts Touring Visual Arts Exhibit currently on display at the EDA. Visible top right is ‘Self Portrait in Darkness,’ an oil pastel by Columbia High School art student Quinn Barnitt. Far left is ‘Angel Portrait,’ a charcoal and collage by CHS art student Ariana Machado.

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The New Jersey State Teen Arts Touring Visual Arts Exhibit was on view through Jan. 26 at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority on West State Street in Trenton. The exhibit features 40 paintings, drawings and photographs selected from thousands created by teens across the state. Each of the 15 participating counties were eligible to nominate up to four pieces to be part of the exhibit. Essex County students whose work is featured in the exhibition include Quinn Barnitt and Ariana Machado, both of whom are students at Columbia High School.

The exhibit launched on July 20 at the Bergen Performing Arts Center and will continue traveling through May 2018, ending its tour at the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts at Ocean County College just in time to kick off the 2018 New Jersey State Teen Arts Festival.

“Cultivating the arts is central to encouraging the elements that create thriving communities, including excellent schools, creative expression, lifelong learning and economic opportunity,” EDA President and Chief Operating Officer Tim Lizura said in a press release. “The EDA is proud to host this impressive collection and we hope that all of these young artists and their peers continue to participate in the state’s vast arts community throughout their lives.”

For more information on the New Jersey State Teens Arts Festival, visit https://www.njteenarts.com/.