‘Touch the Future’ juried art show features work from Montgomery County students

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Arcadia University campus in Glenside. Many local colleges and universities, including Arcadia, are deciding how to proceed and are preparing for all eventualities, be it in-person, online, or virtual classes.
For the 32nd year, the “Touch the Future” art show will honor participants from throughout Bucks and Montgomery counties’ public high schools as it kicks off its nearly four-week run with a reception and awards ceremony on Sunday, March 3 from 1 to 3 pm at Arcadia University in Glenside. The event is free and open to the public through March 28 during gallery hours. It is sponsored by the Pennsylvania State Education Association, Mideastern Region(PSEA/MER), and the Council for the Advancement of Public Schools (CAPS) to provide an opportunity for students to participate in a juried exhibition and showcase the wide-ranging art opportunities available to students in the region.

Representatives of the Dr. Selma Burke Sculpture Award, Inc. will also be on hand to honor the top sculpture student and pay tribute to the artist who was committed to teaching art to others. She created the 1944 bas relief entitled Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which later inspired the Roosevelt dime. Dr. Burke was a member of the Harlem Renaissance movement and lived and worked in New Hope for 46 years.
The name of the annual juried show hails from the sponsors’ desire to pay tribute to Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space who perished aboard the space shuttleChallenger and was known to have said, “I touch the future. I teach.”
The show will be juried by Grace Ahn Klensin, Director of Admissions at Tyler School of Art, Temple University.
Lynne Pribis, an art teacher at Upper Dublin High School has volunteered her time over the past 18 years to organize and chair this enormous effort that includes art submissions from multiple teachers in each of the 30 participating public high schools. Co-chairing is Michael Werner, an art teacher at North Penn High School. “Having the opportunity to see the amazing programs being offered by public high school art teachers in our region, and the art created by students as a result of that education, fuels my creative energy,” said Pribis. “I enjoy getting to know those teachers and seeing the amazement of community members when they visit the gallery,” she added.
“The arts are vital to the well-rounded education being provided in our region’s public schools,” said Alan M. Malachowski, president of PSEA/MER, and an elementary music teacher in North Penn School District. And he added. “Lynne is exceptional and is an example of the thousands of public school teachers in Bucks and Montgomery counties who never stop working to ensure that extraordinary opportunities are available for our students.” He also invited the public to visit the gallery and view the outstanding offerings.
The student artists vie for cash prizes and honors including “Best of Show,” along with second and third place runners-up, a Teachers’ Choice and Dr. Selma Burke Sculpture awards, and scholarships donated by Arcadia University. A winner is also selected from each of the following categories: Drawing – Black & White; Drawing – Color; Painting – Acrylic and Oil; Painting – Water Color and Gouache; 2-D Mixed Media; 2-D Design (no digital); Printmaking; Digital Imaging/Computer Graphics; Traditional Silver Print; Digital Photography; 3-D Mixed Media Sculpture; 3-D Single Medium Sculpture; 3-D Functional; Fiber Crafts; Jewelry/Metals.
PSEA/MER donates most of the prize money and provides compensation to several students who agree to sell their artwork for permanent display in the region offices in Montgomeryville.
The exhibition will take place at Arcadia University, University Commons Art Gallery Area and Great Room Lobby, 450 S. Easton Road, Glenside, PA.  It will run from March 3 through 28 during gallery hours (Monday through Friday, 9 am to 8 pm; Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm, and Sunday, noon to 6 pm).
For a sneak peek at the artwork, like CAPS on Facebook.
PSEA/MER is comprised of the 44 local teacher associations that represent more than 15,000 public school educators in Bucks and Montgomery counties.
The Council for the Advancement of Public Schools was founded in 1995 to celebrate the success and value of public schools in Bucks and Montgomery counties.

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