For Hub City Times

MARSHFIELD — The original artwork of primary and secondary school students is currently on display at New Visions Gallery as part of Wisconsin Art Educators’ Youth Art Month.

Youth Art Month encourages support for quality school art programs and promotes art material safety. The Council for Art Education administers the program at the national level. The program recognizes skills developed through visual arts experiences, including problem solving, creativity, observation, and communication, are unlike those in any other curriculum subjects.

In a time when many view the inclusion of arts education as an amenity, research shows that the inclusion of visual arts education is actually integral to the development of students, helping improve their motor skills, language development, decision making, visual learning, inventiveness, cultural awareness, and overall academic performance. Students that participate in the arts are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement, according to studies by Americans for the Arts.

New Visions Gallery’s celebration starts with the North Central Regional Juried Exhibit and is the first time that New Visions has exhibited this group’s work. Schools from the north central region of Wisconsin included are Amherst, Auburndale, Manitowish Waters, Medford, Minocqua, Necedah, Pittsville, Plover, Rothschild, Stevens Point, Weston, and Wisconsin Rapids. A closing reception, open to all interested in viewing the work, will be held on Feb. 24 from 5-7 p.m.

Students from the kindergarten through high school level have two-dimensional work chosen by their respective art teachers to be included in this exhibit. A juror will choose three pieces from each school that will move on to the state show at the Capitol in Madison the end of March.

Each year, all Marshfield schools, public and private, are invited to participate in Emerging Talents. New Visions’ second student exhibit will include artwork from all grade levels — kindergarten through high school — selected by Marshfield’s art teachers. Two-dimensional as well as three-dimensional pieces are typically included in this exhibit. Emerging Talents will be on exhibit March 6 – May 26. The opening reception will be March 5 from 1-3 p.m.

School and community group tours are available for these exhibits. Interested parties should contact New Visions Gallery to schedule a date and time.

New Visions Gallery, which is located in the lobby of Marshfield Clinic at 1000 N. Oak Ave. in Marshfield, is open Monday-Friday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Admission, as well as receptions, are free, thanks in part to donations from Art Partners and community support. Exhibition space and other support is donated by Marshfield Clinic. For more information, contact New Visions Gallery at 715-387-5562 or info@newvisionsgallery.org.