The Leighton Art Centre will be soon brimming with artistic talent from Okotoks high schools.

The fourth annual Youth Works exhibit will feature work from students at Holy Trinity Academy and the Alberta High School of Fine Arts, as well as several Calgary schools.

Stephanie Doll, Leighton Art Centre Director of Exhibitions, Museum and Programming, says that, in previous years, up to 300 pieces of student art have been featured.

"We realized that there's not a lot of opportunity out there for the youth in our community to participate in art exhibitions or to be part of their local arts community," Doll explains. "So we thought a show specifically for the youth would be a great opportunity, not only to connect with our local junior and senior high school students but also to connect with some young, emerging artists in the area."

Doll says the exhibit gives students exposure to the local arts community, as well as the chance to have their work viewed by a larger audience. She says several past student artist participants in the show have taken out Leighton Art Centre memberships and some have even had their work selected to be featured in the juried members' show at the Leighton Art Centre.

Each piece comes with an artist statement and, in the past, up to 300 works of art have been featured in the exhibit. She says the student talent that has been showcased over the years has been outstanding.

"We've had some amazing talent over the past few years," she says. "We've had people who do sculptures, we've had painters and illustrators and we've found out that many of these students end up going into post-secondary art colleges across Canada after they leave their high schools, so we're kind of a good first step for them."

Art teachers were able to reserve a space in the gallery for this year's show on a first-come, first-served basis and Doll says they are starting to receive requests a year in advance from teachers who wish to have their students' work featured in the exhibit.

Doll points out that it is the art teachers who choose the student work to be featured in Youth Works.

"It's kudos to the art teachers," she says. "They're a really important part of the process and without their level of commitment to their students, it wouldn't be possible to do the show."

The public is welcome to attend the grand opening of Youth Works 2017, which will be held at the Leighton Art Centre on December 2 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

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