Idyllwild Arts Academy to Debut Student Exhibition in May

Catering to its family of supporters in the Desert Cities, Idyllwild Arts Academy will debut its Spring 2024 off-site student exhibition with a reception on Friday, May 3. The Idyllwild Arts Visual Arts students are excited to show their work once again to the desert audience, providing students with a unique taste of what it's like to participate in the professional world of fine art. The visual arts reception will be held at Melissa Morgan Fine Art Gallery (73-660 El Paseo, Palm Desert, CA 92260), a prestigious contemporary gallery in the heart of El Paseo, on Friday, May 3 from 4-7 p.m. At 6pm, songwriting students from Idyllwild Arts Academy will perform their original compositions at a free concert in the gallery's sculpture garden down the block.

Since 2012, Idyllwild Arts Academy has partnered with the premiere Palm Desert gallery, to showcase the exceptional talent and creativity of their Visual Arts students and the opening reception will bring together all of those represented in the show, so guests can speak directly with the artists about their work.

Curated by Visual Arts Department Chair Linda Santana along with the Visual Arts faculty, the exhibition, which is free and open to the public, will also be on view on Saturday, May 4 from 10am to 5pm and will feature the year's best visual works from the pioneering arts high school that has been changing lives through the transformative power of art for more than 70 years.

With the popularity increasing over the years, the exhibition now takes up the main section of the gallery with an expanded breadth and quantity of artworks than in year's past. This year's showcase features 73 pieces, which is 20+ more pieces than 2023, and is created by 37 students representing grades 9 to 12. Works span a range of mediums including: ceramics, painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, photography, metalsmithing/jewelry, digital art and mixed media. This year's artwork shares reflections on identity, culture, relationships, dreams, fears and all of the nuanced moments in between that influence the evolving student-artist.

With the extraordinary generosity of Melissa Morgan Fine Art, all of the artwork in the exhibition will be for sale, including a selection of unframed prints for buyers to take home, with 100% of the proceeds going to the artist and to the Visual Arts Department at Idyllwild Arts.

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