P.S. Art 2011 Exhibition Held at Metropolitan Museum

For the fourth consecutive year, a juried exhibition of works of art by New York City public school students enrolled in pre-K through the 12th grade will be shown in the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education at The Metropolitan Museum of Art through P.S. Art, a collaborative project between the New York City Department of Education and Studio in a School Association, Inc. The exhibition P.S. Art 2011: Celebrating the Creative Spirit of NYC Kids will include 60 works by 61 students, ages five through 19. The display will open for special viewing by the public beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14, for participants in the Museum Mile Festival, and will remain on view through August 7.

Susana Torruella Leval, a Trustee and member of the Education Committee at the Metropolitan Museum; Kate Levin (Commissioner, Department of Cultural Affairs); and Agnes Gund, founder of Studio in a School, are among the speakers who will address students, parents, and teachers at a private ceremony prior to the opening.

Thomas P. Campbell, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, commented: "We are very happy to feature the work of so many outstanding young artists in this year's P.S. Art display. It is our hope that public recognition of their creative spirit at an early age will encourage and inspire these very talented students."

"Our continuing collaboration on this exhibition is very appropriate," Peggy Fogelman, the Museum's Frederick P. and Sandra P. Rose Chairman of Education, added, "because there are so many ways the Museum's collections can provide inspiration for these young artists."

The artists in the exhibition come from a broad spectrum of life experience: students with special needs are represented as well as those enrolled in advanced placement art classes. The annual exhibition shows how ability, creativity, and subject matter change as an artist develops from childhood to adulthood.

More than 750 works of art were submitted to the P.S. 2011 competition for initial review. From this group, 354 semi-finalists were selected. The jury-which was comprised of members of the art community (including two staff members from the Metropolitan Museum)-made the final selection.

A free admission pass provided by the Department of Education will allow the artists and their parents to return to the Museum multiple times over the course of the exhibition.

All of the works of art in the exhibition will also be featured on the website of the Museum (www.metmuseum.org).