Top works of art from Bucks and Montgomery County public high school students will be featured during the annual “Touch the Future” art show, in collaboration with Montgomery County Community College, beginning on Sunday, March 3.

This is the 37^th year for the “Touch the Future” art show, a professionally juried art exhibit named in tribute to Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space who perished aboard the space shuttle Challenger in 1986 and was known to have said, “I touch the future. I teach.”

“Touch the Future” is sponsored by the Mideastern Region of the Pennsylvania State Education Association and the Council for the Advancement of Public Schools.

"We are so thankful for our partnership with Montgomery County Community College to put on this show,” said Bill Senavaitis, President of PSEA’s Mideastern Region. “The high quality of our students’ work is truly a testimony to our Bucks and Montgomery County public schools’ dedication to the arts. We appreciate all of our public-school educators and our artists’ families for helping students improve their talents and follow their dreams.”

Twenty-five local high schools are participating in the show, which features 301 student artworks. The winners of the juried show have been selected by Em Kleaver, Admissions Counselor at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture. The 2024 show will award 26 prizes totaling $4,835, which were sponsored by the PSEA Mideastern Region CAPS Program and PSEA Montco-Retired.

“I am so honored and humbled to have been chosen to enjoy this year’s amazing selection of work,” said Kleaver  in her juror’s statement. “I was truly overwhelmed by the breadth of work and level of skill I witnessed while jurying this year’s show.”

The art show, which is open to the public, will remain on display at the Montco Cultural Center Fine Arts Gallery in Blue Bell through April 5. The show is made possible by the hard work of “Touch the Future” co-chairs and local educators Mike Werner and Joanne Carrick from North Penn High School, and Terry O’Neill from Neshaminy High School. MCCC Galleries Director Patrick Rodgers provides key support in ensuring the success of the exhibit.

"These students have created some outstanding pieces this year and pursued some really adventurous themes. For those who haven't seen this exhibit, it's a jaw-dropping display of artwork that really reflects the creativity of area students and their teachers. We're grateful to PSEA and teachers for all the support they give to this experience, which anyone can visit and enjoy. Congratulations to all the students involved in the show,” said Rodgers.

This year, 24 students were awarded prizes, which were sponsored by the PSEA Mideastern Region CAPS Program, and PSEA Montco-Retired.

The Rosemary Hamilton Memorial Teachers Choice Award is chosen by PSEA-MER teachers and will be awarded at the Art Show’s closing reception. In addition, artworks chosen for the PSEA-Mideastern Region purchase prize receive a place of honor in the art gallery in PSEA-MER’s office in Montgomeryville.

A listing of the winning artists is below.

AWARD	STUDENT NAME	SCHOOL	TITLE & CATEGORY	TEACHER
1st Place Best of Show	Anagha Kannurpatti	Council Rock High School North	“Infusion” Black and White Drawing	Jim Biglan
2nd Place Best of Show	Tommy Mackey	Souderton Area High School	“Will He Be Proud” 2D Mixed Media	Sabrina Pistoria
3rd Place Best of Show	Sadie Van Tassel	Hatboro-Horsham High School	“Divisive Dinner” Color Drawing	Leah Eilert
CATEGORY AWARDS	STUDENT NAME	SCHOOL	TITLE	TEACHER
Drawing Black & White	Shannon Trusdale	Upper Moreland High School	“Self Portrait”	Alex Pinguli
Drawing Black & White HONORABLE MENTION	Simone Graves	Truman High School	“Locked Doors”	A. Freeman
Color Drawing	Julia Callahan	Bensalem High School	“Road Kill Graffiti”	Carly Najera
Painting	Maiah Mei	Pennridge High School	“Bubble Wrap”	Sarah Moos
Painting HONORABLE MENTION	Erin Thomas	Spring-Ford High School	“The Artist’s View”	Brent Kissel
2-D Mixed Media	Kerry Chen	Council Rock High School South	“Get In Line”	Michael Catalano
2-D Design and Printmaking	Olivia Phelan	Neshaminy High School	“Western Fantasy”	Mrs. Terry O’Neill
Digital Imaging/Computer Graphics	Yvan Phan	Pennridge High School	“Clay Pot Rue”	Sarah Moos
Photography	Carina Laventure	North Penn High School	“1 Year Older, 10 Years Gone”	J. Carrick
Photography HONORABLE MENTION	Milo Trubetskaya	William Tennent High School	“Untitled”	Kristen King
3-D Mixed Media Sculpture	Nanditha Paila	Spring-Ford High School	“The Human Fabric”	Chad Strickler
3-D Single Medium Sculpture	Katherine Weimer	Spring-Ford High School	“Life, Death, and Decay”	Karen Gallagher
3-D Single Medium HONORABLE MENTION	Dallas Nyce	Souderton Area High School	“Escape”	John McLaughlin
3-D Functional	Melanie Evitts	Upper Merion High School	“Low Tide”	Megan Barner
3-D Functional HONORABLE MENTION	Riley Fanelli	Pennsbury High School	“Wildflowers”	Jon Twersky
Computer Animation	Lydia Herb	North Penn High School	“Animated Short”	Mr. Mike Werner
Selma Burke Sculpture Award (any 3D work)	Clare Morgan	Council Rock High School South	“Tea Party”	Elizabeth Thomas
Susan Castle Memorial (jewelry/metals artwork)	Christina Vala	Neshaminy School District	“Koi”	Justin Bursk
PSEA Purchase Prize	Annabelle Schu	Council Rock High School South	“At The Pier On Thirteenth”  Painting	Michael Catalano
PSEA Purchase Prize	Jesse Rivero	Harry S. Truman High School	“Electric Roller Coaster” Silver Print Photography	Mark Morgan
PSEA Purchase  Prize	Maggie Jacobs	Central Bucks High School west	"Turtle"	Alison Thompson
ROSEMARY HAMILTON MEMORIAL - selected by teachers at closing reception	TBD