Young art will decorate the McMillan Arts Centre this month with work created by local high school students.
“The selection looks great and is a variety of art modes, from drawing to painting and sculpture and ceramics, they’ve got everything,” said Mehdi Naïmi, one of the show organizers.
One of the students featured at the Young at Art Exhibition is Geoff Campbell, a Grade 12 Kwalikum Secondary School Student who has recently been accepted to the Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Campbell visited the Vancouver school last December during an international portfolio day, where representatives from major art schools across North America talked to students about their work.
About a month later he received a surprise in the mail.
“They looked at it and reviewed it and a month after that [Emily Carr] sent a letter saying I’ve had an early acceptance,” he said. “I didn’t expect anything back from them and then I got this letter.”
Campbell creates art in different media, from ink, acrylic paintings and clay sculptures to mixed media collages. But most recently his focus has been on photography. He likes to capture images of nature and enjoys creating mixed media pieces with a meaning, like contrasting consumerism with the natural beauty of the outdoors. Some photographs that will be featured at the exhibition this month are his abstract images captured at the last YAM dance. Being a musician who loves to dance himself, he wanted to capture the mood of these dances, which he thoroughly enjoyed, he said.
“It was fun to capture all the excitement and the energy happening there,” he said.
Campbell will continue studying other artists and creating art projects until his move over to Vancouver for school in the fall.
He said he’s looking forward to being immersed in the bustling modern art scene in that city.
“I’m really excited to become more involved in an artistic scene,” he said.
“So I think I’ll be happy living there, [I’ll] get some inspiration.”
The exhibition runs for the month of May at the McMillan Arts Centre (formerly the Oceanside Arts Council) in Parksville, with a reception with live music and refreshments on May 26.
For more on this show and others at the MAC visit the McMillan Arts Centre at www.oceansideartscouncil.com or call 250-248-8185.