Manatee County students see their artwork featured on gallery walls

For Mason Rademaker, a senior at Lakewood Ranch High School, Wednesday night wasn’t the first time his artwork has been publicly displayed, but he did bring home a blue ribbon.

Manatee County students like Rademaker got a taste of a true gallery experience Wednesday night at the ArtCenter Manatee as their artwork adorned the walls of the gallery.

Wednesday night, the opening reception for the fourth annual K-12 Student Exhibit was held, and awards were handed out.

Rademaker was awarded first place in the ninth to 12th grade division for his acrylic artwork, “Backwards”

Hanging on a wall above a collection of pottery, an acrylic painting of a person screaming was clearly visible next to a small blue ribbon. The piece of art, Rademaker explained, was originally meant to be viewed through a mirror and to spread the message of feminism.

“It’s supposed to put you in a position where you saw this figure yelling at you, screaming at you, and you realize you didn’t want that happening to you. … . We wanted to put people in the position that they didn’t want others screaming at them so not to do that to others,” Rademaker said.

Throughout the gallery, artwork ranging from paintings to clay pots could be found. More than 250 pieces of artwork were displayed from 27 schools, according to Regina Fallgren, chairwoman of the event and art teacher at Sea Breeze Elementary School.

“For those students that have a strong aptitude in art, it gives them a chance to shine because art is one of those things that is a lot of times is a silent production and it hangs there. … So this lets them have a venue to see what being a professional artist is like,” Fallgren said.

The ArtCenter awarded scholarships to art classes to students whose work was judged to be among the best in each of the grade categories. Those who received awards were also given art supplies to help them continue making art.

“The work on the walls is truly amazing. We have so many talented artists, budding artists, people who are already there, you guys should all be impressed with yourselves you’re truly all creative souls and we can see that, definitely,” Carla Nierman, executive director of ArtCenter Manatee, said.

“I want to encourage you to continue whether it’s the arts or other types of performing arts, because this is what makes our society beautiful,” Dr. Diana Greene, superintendent of Manatee County schools, said to the students gathered for the awards ceremony Wednesday.

The exhibit runs until May 19.

This story was originally published April 26, 2017 at 9:41 PM with the headline "Manatee County students see their artwork featured on gallery walls."