After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the annual Tri-County High School Art Exhibition returns to the North Hall Gallery at  Montgomery County Community College’s Pottstown Campus, 16 E. High Street.

This year, MCCC received 174 submissions from 16 area high schools. The exhibit features a wide array of artwork, including paintings, drawings, prints, fibercrafts, beadwork, ceramics, mixed media, sculptures and much more.

“This is definitely a record for our North Hall Gallery,” said Patrick Rodgers, MCCC Galleries Director. “Each school could submit up to 12 works in any medium, and we are thrilled to fill the gallery walls to showcase the talent of these aspiring artists.”

The juror for the show was artist, educator and author, Krysta Bernhardt, who teaches classes at Pottstown’s ArtFusion19464.

“It was truly a pleasure to jury this exhibition of talented young artists,” Bernhardt said. “I was highly impressed by the skill and craftsmanship across the board.”

Selecting artwork for recognition among the many excellent pieces was not an easy process.

“Art to me is as much about the story that the artwork conveys as it is about the skill involved in the creation,” she said. “The stories that were told through this year's submissions were absolutely riveting, making it very difficult to choose artworks for special recognition. The pieces I chose stood out to me both for their technical excellence and for their ability to make the viewer turn inward and ask deeper questions about the artists' intentions and their own interpretations of the works.”

After careful consideration, Bernhardt selected the following artwork for awards of excellence:

• Best in Show: Kyra Keenan, Upper Merion Area HS, Vacation, colored pencil
• Kendall Bocklet, Mount St. Joseph Academy, Peahen, crochet
• Sarah Grashof, Owen J. Roberts HS, A Dragonfly's Resting Place, mixed media
• Ava Guarino, Spring-Ford Senior HS, From the Ashes, acrylic on canvas
• Addison Iannetta, Souderton Area HS, Self-Portrait, Linocut
• Sarah Kevnin, The Hill School, Gaze, Digital photography
• Jocelyn Kozen, Hatboro-Horsham HS, Untitled, Digital photography
• Reagan Lisius, Souderton Area HS, Self Portrait, acrylic on canvas
• Jillian Michal, Governor Mifflin HS, Forest Morning, digital design
• Emma Moritz, Spring-Ford Senior HS, Unwind, colored pencil
• Julia Newby, Upper Merion Area HS, Chained to Perfection, ceramics
• Jillian Richards, The Hill School, Burning Ladies, Digital design
• Chase Scheuren, Souderton Area HS, Gateway, ceramics
• Madelyn Thomas, Pottsgrove High School, The Reaper's Ruby/Filthy Love, watercolor and ink
• Brittany Truong, Exeter Senior HS, Telephone Line, gouache on board
• Emma VanLuvanee, Perkiomen Valley HS, Excess, acrylic, collage, fabric on canvas
• Haley Weinberger, Boyertown Area Senior HS, Superstition, pencil
• Mandy Welde, Upper Merion Area HS, Silent and Still, pencil
• Nina Williams, Spring-Ford Senior HS, Eden, Adobe Photoshop
• Bernhardt thought Keenan’s “Vacation” was “intensely moving.”

 “It is a beautifully drawn piece that jumps off the page with its excellent use of color, movement and texture,” said Bernhardt. “The intense subject matter, especially considering today's world and many teens' challenges with mental health, demands the viewer's attention and forces them to dig deeper. It is a powerful piece of art.”

For the Best of Show award, Keenan received $50, which was sponsored by the Pottstown Area Artists Guild.  

The exhibit will be on display through April 8. The North Hall Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Gallery is closed on the weekend.

For more information about the exhibit or the galleries at Blue Bell and Pottstown, contact Galleries Director Patrick Rodgers at prodgers@mc3.edu.