‘Artists of Tomorrow’
Students’ works showcased in Pines center
Charcoal self-portraits, pencil sketchings and mixed media artwork were recently showcased at the Southwest Focal Point Community Center in Pembroke Pines.
More than 30 pieces of artwork by Pembroke Pines middle and high school students were displayed as part of the “Artists of Tomorrow” showcase.
Incoming Flanagan High School seniors Hannah Cooper and Allison Garcia, both 17, coordinated self-portraits done in charcoal. While done on separate paper, the girls face each other and appear ready for battle, armed with samurai swords.
“We have a very strong love for Asian culture,” Garcia said. “Telling stories is the biggest thing we like.”
For many of the students, this was their first public exhibition, said curator Roberta Nazimovitz.
“Most of them have never been shown,” she said. “This was the perfect opportunity.”
Nazimovitz got the idea after seeing the sketches of Anakarina Beckhart, a sophomore at Somerset Academy Charter School’s Arts Conservatory.
“I decided if I could get enough kids who are good … that I would set something up,” Nazimovitz said. “I’m so pleased with it.”
Beckhart had portraits of singer Gwen Stefani and actress Lupita Nyong’o on display.
“I’ve always loved art,” she said. “I just want to be in galleries.”
One of Somerset Arts Conservatory student Emmanuel Gorrin’s “proudest works” is his mixed media self-portrait “The Intruder,” which is a sketch in colored pencil attached to a painting.
“It turned out pretty much the way I wanted,” said Gorrin, 17, who recently graduated. “It came very easily to me and was really well received.”
Many of the students described doodling as children and honing their skills as they got older.
“As a young kid, I definitely had an interest,” Gorrin said. “It was when people started telling me I was good at it in middle school that I started to get serious about it.”
April Beckenhauer Pino, a teacher with the Arts Conservatory, was excited her students’ work was publicly displayed.
“I like to see their creativity,” she said.