The Sheldon Art Galleries Presents Backpack Blues: Art by Students of Central Visual and Performing Arts High School 9/25-2/6/2010

The Sheldon Art Galleries presents Backpack Blues: Art by Students of Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, September 25, 2009 - February 6, 2010 in the AT&T Gallery of Children's Art. Please join us for an all-gallery opening reception on Friday, September 25, 2009 from 5 - 7 p.m.! Galleries will be open until 8 p.m due to The Sheldon concert featuring Bettye LaVette. NEW Gallery Hours are Tuesdays, Noon - 8 p.m.; Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, Noon - 5 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. and one hour prior to Sheldon performances and during intermission. Admission is free. For more information on the exhibition visit the galleries' website at www.thesheldon.org/galleries.asp.

This exhibition by students of Central Visual and Performing Arts High School celebrates the rich legacy of blues music. Organized as a companion to the Legends of St. Louis Blues Music exhibit in the History of Jazz Gallery, the students have created vibrant works in many media including painting, ceramics, drawing and photography. The artworks are accompanied by blues lyrics written by the school's African-American Literature class. Works of art depict musicians like Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson and even Jimi Hendrix and Billie Holiday, among others. A St. Louis City school, Central VPA is located at the corner of Kingshighway Boulevard and Arsenal Street and fosters a rigorous academic curriculum with an environment of artistic excellence. The school offers visual arts, photography, fashion, theater, dance, vocal and instrumental music, television, and radio, as well as a full range of academic subjects.

The not-for profit Sheldon Art Galleries exhibits works by local, national, and International Artists in all media. Over 6,000 square feet of the galleries' spaces on the 2nd floor are permanently devoted to rotating exhibits of photography, architecture, jazz art and history, and children's art. A sculpture garden, seen from both the atrium lobby and the connecting glass bridge, features periodic rotations and installations, and the Nancy Spirtas Kranzberg Gallery on the lower level features art of all media. The Sheldon actively supports the work of St. Louis artists in all mediums and features a dedicated gallery with museum-quality exhibits by St. Louis artists, past and present.

Financial Assistance for this project has been provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. Support is provided by the Regional Arts Commission and the Arts and Education Council.