Press Release - March 2006

Ottawa, January 17, 2006 – The City of Ottawa is announcing the expansion of its highly successful Young at Art Exhibition program. After running in Ottawa West for nine years, young people from all areas of the city now have the opportunity to participate in this unique program that recognizes and values their talents.

Run in partnership with community art groups, Young at Art is a juried competition for visual artists between the ages of 13 and 19 that culminates with a public exhibition. Over the past nine years hundreds of young people have had their work shown.

“This is a great program,” says Peggy Feltmate, city Councillor for Kanata. Ms. Feltmate has led the awards gala that kicks off each exhibition since she first heard about the program upon becoming a City Councillor.

“This program really fosters the creativity of our young people, giving them a positive outlet for their creative energies and showing them that their talents and the things they are passionate about are valued,” she says. “And it’s great for adults too. It helps give us a real insight into what’s going on with our youth and helps us connect with them.”

Three Ottawa art galleries will host the exhibitions:

- Foyer Gallery at the Nepean Sportsplex, February 8 to March 1, 2006

- Kanata Civic Art Gallery in John Mlacak Centre, February 14 to March 4, 2006

- Cumberland Gallery at 255 Centrum Boulevard, February 16 to March 21, 2006

Each exhibition will kick off with an awards gala recognizing the most outstanding submissions.

Read the Ottawa Citizen article on the Young at Art show by Connie Higginson-Murray

or download the PDF file of the article.