Young talent shines brightly in annual youth arts exhibition
An exhibition showcasing the work of some of Sunderland’s most talented young artists has opened at Arts Centre Washington. The Deputy Mayor of Sunderland, Coun David Snowdon, opened the Sunderland Youth Arts Exhibition 2019: Bright Lights earlier this month.
Coun Snowdon welcomed young artists, family and friends to the exhibition opening, praising the high quality of the art on show.
“The exhibition shows what fantastic talent we have here and congratulations to all of the artists – they represent our future and can certainly delight and excite us,” he said.
He went on to praise the artists’ families, friends and teachers: “These are all important figures in the lives of these young talented people.
“They nurture, support and guide them, helping to develop the next generation of talent.”
The Youth Arts Exhibition is now in its 24th year and has become a regular and popular date in the visual arts calendar of Arts Centre Washington.
Artwork from 11 to 19-year -olds across Sunderland and the surrounding areas is featured.
The multi-disciplinary exhibition, which includes textiles, oil painting, video and digital photography, tells the varied and complex stories of young people in Sunderland.
Work covers a range of themes from physical landscapes to imagined realities, exploring culture, community and society.
This year the format of the exhibition has changed and as well as displaying the work of the city’s best young artists the display has been created by a special team of young curators.
Isabella Cameron, Georgina Donkin and Lauren Thursby were chosen to join Arts Centre and Sunderland Culture professionals to bring out the ideas and themes in this year’s submissions.
Posy Jowett, project co-ordinator at Arts Centre Washington, said: “The curation team has been amazed by the high quality of the art work that has been submitted this year, and the well-developed ideas and the technical skills which are demonstrated by the artists.
“We are proud to celebrate these emerging Sunderland artists.”
The exhibition runs until March 9.