Photo submitted to Times Observer Submissions for the All-County (Virtual) High School Art Show 2020 are being accepted, despite the closure of the art show’s venue and the inability to bring people together.

The show — the Warren County School District All-County High School Art Show, to be exact — must go on.

Submissions for the art show are being accepted, despite the closure of the art show’s venue and the inability to bring people together.

“We are excited to still be able to give the students the opportunity to showcase their talents and hard work through creativity and the artistic process,” Eisenhower Art Teacher Jessica McElhaney said. “It is our hope that students will embrace the moment to share their artistic talents with the community.”

Schools are closed. Galleries are closed. But the creative juices are flowing.

“It is important to give students the opportunity to showcase their hard work, creativity, and talent in a public setting such as an art show,” McElhaney said. “The experience of hanging artwork in a public setting gives students confidence in the art work they have created through the artistic process, and furthermore grow as an artist.”

Photos of student art works will be posted online from May 21 through June 5.

“An Art Show, of any kind, signifies giving artists the opportunity to display their finished pieces of artwork in a formal setting,” she said. “This setting can appear in a multitude of ways such a physical or virtual art show, an arts festival, or gallery setting where they submit work to be juried before being accepted into the art show.”

“I, as an art teacher, talk and discuss the art show all school year and remind the students how important it is to prepare their pieces for showing such as matting and signing their pieces of art,” McElhaney said. “Normally, the students have to select their best pieces and submit those to the All-County High School Art Show when it is in the physical setting. This teaches the students to critique what artwork they feel is the strongest pieces and answer the question ‘why did I select these two piece out of the body of art work I created this school year?'”

Three artists and art teachers not affiliated with Warren County School District will judge the show. Public voting will determine the People’s Choice awards.

McElhaney is looking for submissions from student artists. All students in grades 9 through 12 are encouraged to submit no more than two pieces that they created at home or in school.

Students will not be able to get into the schools to retrieve works nor take photos of works that are still there.

Photos must be submitted in JPEG format, be school appropriate, and only include the art — no additional background nor foreground material should appear.

Submissions may be uploaded using the QR code on the poster pictured with this story.

The deadline to submit work for the show is Friday, May 1.