BROOKFIELD — Brookfield Craft Center (BCC) will present its fifth annual Juried High School Student Art Exhibition next month, showcasing artworks by students from five local high schools.

The exhibition, “Artists on The Rise,” will open Saturday, March 7, with a reception and awards ceremony to be held in BCC’s Lynn Tendler Bignell Gallery from 5 to 7 pm.

More than 90 students will be represented, with work in a wide range of media including ceramics, painting, photography, and more. The show is a juried event and awards will be given across media and for Best In Show.

At least one student from Newtown, Amanda Lucadamo, has been accepted into this year’s show. Artists were invited to participate by their schools, but specific art classes and programs were not required for consideration. A jury of noted community members, artists, and educators evaluate all the submissions and finalists in making the awards.

Students represent Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, Henry Abbott Technical and New Milford high schools.

Jurors were Shannon Riley, Lisa Scroggins, and Melissa Ralston-Jones.

Ms Riley has been a resident of Brookfield for 12 years. She earned her BFA in studio art from the College of New Rochelle and a Master of Science in education from Western Connecticut State University. She has been teaching for 15 years at Brewster High School in Brewster, N.Y.

Ms Riley works in mixed media and currently serves as a member of the Brookfield Arts Commission.

Ms Scroggins has lived mostly in urban settings; in contrast, her creative thinking often turns to nature and organic forms. The artist’s love of ceramics began in high school and progressed through college and beyond.

Ms Scroggins attended Rhode Island School of Design, and Parsons School of Design in New York City, graduating with a BFA in graphic design. She currently spends her week working at Silvermine Arts Center, as well as teaching all areas of art to students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. She also creates whimsical ceramics at her Connecticut studio.

Ms Ralston-Jones serves as a special appointment professor of Gallery Studies at Western Connecticut State University and has operated as the gallery curator since 2013.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in American history with a minor in museum studies from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Oswego and an MFA in museum studies from Johns Hopkins University. After working in education in both the primary and secondary systems, Ms Ralston-Jones opened a fiscally sponsored nonprofit art gallery, Gallery 46, in Vernon. There she curated 14 exhibitions, establishing a cultural resource for the surrounding community and a creative outlet for emerging artists.

Through Gallery 46’s increased visibility, she was recruited to serve as a board member for the newly formed arts organization, Vernon Community Arts Center (renamed Arts Center East), where she fulfilled the roles of assistant director and interim acting director and was integral in the opening and development of exhibition and educational programming.

Brookfield Craft Center Executive Director Howard Lasser said the center is excited to host the exhibition of young talent and impressive artists from local schools.

“An important part of our mission is to engage more of our local community, and our youth programs are an essential piece of our future,” he added. “We are honored to recognize these young artists and are excited about the response from our schools and amazed by the quality of the work submitted. I hope everyone comes out to see what our local students are creating.”

Over the last year, Brookfield Craft Center has expanded programs for youth through the growing “Hands-On Art” summer program, after school and home school classes, special events from Scouts, and internships with local students.

“Artists on The Rise” will be presented in Brookfield Craft Center’s Lynn Tendler Bignell Gallery March 7-31. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 pm; Saturday, 11 am to 5 pm; and Sunday, noon to 4 pm.

BCC is at 286 Whisconier Road (Route 25), just east of the intersection with Route 7/202. For more information visit brookfieldcraft.org, call 203-775-4526, or e-mail info@brookfieldcraft.org.