Student artists in Solanco School District were awarded 21 awards and 14 honorable mentions for this year's Lancaster County Young Artists exhibit at the Lancaster Museum of Art, 135 N. Lime St., Lancaster. The exhibit opened with a reception on March 8, and it features the work of young artists from middle schools and high schools throughout the county, including Solanco High School and Smith Middle School. A selection of the highlighted artists' pieces will remain on display at the museum until Sunday, April 7.

This year's highlighted artists include Awards and honors were given to several students in Solanco School District, including Ava Kurtz, Maggie Poole, Avery Caldwell, Hannah Chen, Brooklynn King, Addison Boyd, Lila Good, Justice Felizzi, Emma Reinhardt, Blake Jenkins, Wesley Bard, Emma Gilman and Daphny Kylar.

Every year, students between seventh and 12th grades are invited to submit work in the Lancaster County Young Artists exhibit, which is open to kids who are enrolled in a local district as well as homeschooled youths. The regional competition includes categories for apparel, ceramics and glass, digital art, drawing, painting, photography, sculpture and many other mediums.

"Solanco award-winning artists have an outstanding showing in this year's Lancaster County Young Artists Awards Exhibition," said Candace Rakers, Solanco School District's visual arts department chair. "All of Solanco's award-winning artists can be especially proud of the impressive quality of their work selected for this highly competitive regional competition."

Solanco High School senior Ava Kurtz won 18 awards, including a Gold Portfolio Award, a Silver Portfolio Award, three Special Awards, four Gold Awards, four Silver Awards and five Honorable Mention Awards. Kurtz's works are featured on both gallery floors of the Lancaster Museum of Art; one wall on the main floor is dedicated to showcasing two of Kurtz's award-winning portfolios: "The Asian-American Experience" and "Abundance."

Art teachers in each school district select work from their students to enter in the contest every year. Once the submissions are judged, artists who have been chosen for the exhibit are contacted directly to drop off their work. "With over 425 works juried into the exhibition from 19 school districts from across the county, we are grateful to the Lancaster Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design for hosting the exhibition this year, and for providing this exceptional opportunity for these young artists to be honored and thrilled to see their work in the spotlight at these prestigious art venues," said Rakers.

Lancaster County Young Artists was initially run by multiple volunteers. In recent years, the Lancaster Museum of Art and the Demuth Foundation took over the management of the annual contest. Artwork from an additional seven school districts will be exhibited at the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design in Lancaster city as part of the Lancaster County Young Artists exhibit.

For more information, visit http://www.demuth.org.