"Cat" in acrylic by Sabra Goveia, a ninth-grader at Buxton School. Teens from eight area high schools presented their work at the 10th annual Teen Invitational over the weekend at Masschusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.
Riley Jowett of BArT won a grand prize for 'Mother's Revenge.'
iBerkshires made it into Pittsfield High senior Lucien Nash's 'Calm and Chaos/ a high school narrative' about the deadly crash at the school in 2014.
Mass MoCA Director Kristy Edmunds greets the students and families in the Hunter Center.
Director of Education Laura Thompson presents the awards.
The exhibition was held in Building 6 next to the Jenny Holzer exhibit.
Art teachers Erica Manville of Drury and Lisa Ostellino of Pittsfield High School are presented with Phoebe Pepper Awards.
Students were selected for Gold Awards by school, earning their art departments grants of about $1,000.
The winner of the $300 Berkshire Eagle grand prize was Christopher Fortier of Hoosac Valley High School for his handsewn 'Cliff the bull' costume.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Nearly 300 area high school students participated in this year's Teen Invitational at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.
The weekend exhibition was the 10th event and the first since 2019 because of the pandemic.
This year, the invitational was held inside Building 6 next to the Jenny Holzer exhibit. The students expressed their creativity in a wide array of media include photography, ceramics, textiles, machining, paper and painting. Eight high schools participated: the Academy at Charlemont, Berkshire Arts & Technology Public Charter School, Buxton School, Drury High School, Hoosac Valley High School, Mount Greylock Regional School, Pine Cobble School and Pittsfield High School.
"This is like the best moment it shows that we needed to be together by the crowds and we really appreciate how patient and kind you are, even though it's very crowded," said Laura Thompson, the museum's director of education, at the reception in the Hunter Center on Friday night. "It's pretty incredible. We had the most number of pieces in a show: from eight high schools, 289 pieces of artwork went up."
Among the works she pointed out was the latest version of a painted blue bowling ball named "King" that the artist had first conceptualized in the third grade, a pair of handsewn sneakers, a class full of ceramic masks and a full size hand-sewn bull costume.
The "Cliff the bull" costume by Christopher Fortier, a senior at Hoosac Valley High School, took home the Berkshire Eagle Prize of $300. Fortier received an annual Mass MoCA family membership, a contribution to his school's art department and a book from the Artist Book Foundation.
Fortier, who will be attending Bennington (Vt.) College next year, also won top awards at the last two invitationals that were held.
There were four other top-prize winners who also received yearlong museum family memberships, contributions to their school art departments and books from the Artist Book Foundation.
Two grand prize finalists, Sam Robbins of the Academy at Charlemont and Eri Bolton of Buxton Academy, each also won $100 cash prize. Robbins won for a sculpture, "Blooming Scab," and Bolton for a ceramic dollhouse.
The two grand-prize winners each won a $200 cash prize. Riley Jowett of BArT won for his surrealist artwork "Mother's Revenge" and Teague Murphy of Mount Greylock Regional School the "poignant" sculpture "Strike on Innocents."
Gold award winners were selected from each high school contingent with the schools getting $1,000 to $1,100 for their art departments and a book from the Artist Book Foundation. Each of the students also won a yearlong family membership to Mass MoCA.
"All of the art teachers have worked so hard during this pandemic. And they need acknowledgments," she said. "We're so impressed the year after year with their mentorship, guidance and support in preparation for this event and beyond."
Two art teachers were singled out for Phoebe Pepper Awards, established in 2019 in honor of the visual arts instructor at Drury High School and awarded to those teachers who helped in facilitating the previous event. This year's honors went to Erica Manville of Drury and Lisa Ostellino of Pittsfield High School.
"These grants are intended to go to their own individual artistic practices. So please know that in the gallery there are the teachers' artwork as well. So these these are not only teachers but they're artists and creative beings, too," Thompson said.
Kristy Edmunds, the museum's new director, was on hand to welcome the teen artists and their families at the reception, which was followed with music from the Drury High jazz band.
"I spent some time up there this afternoon looking at these incredible artists' work. And it's beautiful to see all of you here tonight for the award ceremony," she said. "As a museum director, it is really great to see and touch and experience, something that you've offered and that we will experience more and more in the future."
She thanked them for their persistence and their parents for supporting their efforts, even if they may thinking the other core courses are more important.
"You know, art wasn't just made to be sitting on somebody's refrigerator after the age of, you know, first grade and kind of goes away with other priorities," she said. "It's a way of knowing, and I thank you for supporting these young artists in your life."
Thompson said a colleague had told her earlier in the morning that it was their favorite exhibition every year and that "it's very important. If we don't help kids to be artists, then we won't have museums 20 years from now."
Gold Award Winners
The Academy at Charlemont, $1,000
1. Lucas Tikkala-Cutler
2. Beck Gritzner
3. Matilda Morse
4. Johan Pollock
5. Maceo Raker
6. Ainsley Murray
BArT Charter School, $1,100
1. Aiden King
2. Naomie Iffetayo
3. Madi Walker
4. JuneBug Roney
5. Lucy Troy
6. Lainey Loynes
7. Diego Sanchez
8. Maddy Ostrowski
9. Destiny Sanchez
10. Sascha Ehrlich
11. Matthew Weiskotten
12. Ari Johns
Buxton School, $1,100
1. Lyric Van Der Laan
2. Eleanor Toomey
3. Evan Hunt
4. Olive Lyons
5. Iris Semon Pike
6. Bea Sas
7. Alani Carasone
8. Xixi Smith
9. Leonardo Barber
10. Isadore Chernilla
11. Lola Bohle
12.Sabra Goveia
Drury High School, $1,100
1. Emily Lyons
2. Terra Crews
3. Bradley Chapman
4. Emma Vareschi
5. Jordin Sullivan
6. Emma Morgan
7. Maddi Donovan
8. Starlynn Wood
9. Jenna Sullivan-Bol
10. Rachel Newton
11. Chandra Miller
12. Madalyn Gorton
13. Brian Ames
Hoosac Valley High School, $1,100
1. Chelse Krutiak
2. Rian Brassard
3. Zack Sawyer
Mount Greylock Regional School, $1,100
1. Polly Rhie
2. Vera de Jong
3. Noah Klompus
4. Marlee Alpi
5. Lila Cohen-McFall
6. Phoebe Hughes
7. Frida Hellman
8. Hans Chundekad
9. Lily Catelotti
10. Jordyn Beaulieu
11. Madison MacHaffie
12. Cam Barzousky
13. Piper Schulman
14. Simon Klompus
15. Julie Lawson
16. Jameson Bayliss
17. Clarissa Louis
18. Samantha Garzone
19. Felicia LaRoche
Pine Cobble School, $1,000
1. Benjamin Rosenthal
2. Jesse Thompson
3. Mea Richardson
4. Reed Miles-Harris
5. Megan McGrath
6. Grady Brownell-Wilkins
Pittsfield High School, $1,100
1. Rose Fiscella
2. Laura Bronson
3. Piper Patton
4. Jayshawn Warren
5. Molly Sherman
6. Jack Archey
7. Malaysla Jackson
8. Monique King
9. Bashee Canada
10. Adam Obtrou
11. Britain Sadowy
12. Caol Soldato
13. Kiere Cogswell
14. Dale Christiana
15. Isabella Ameen
16. Isabella Berkel
17. Lucien Nash
18. Ethan Callahan
19. Antonia Bedard
20. Mackenzie Ressler
Grand-Prize Finalists
1. Sam Robbins, Academy at Charlemont, "Blooming Scab" sculpture
2. Eri Bolton, Buxton School, dollhouse
Grand Prizes
1. Riley Jowett, BArT, for 'Mother's Revenge
2. Teague Murphy, Mount Greylock Regional School, "Strike on Innocents" sculpture
Strike on Innocents
Berkshire Eagle Prize
1. Christopher Fortier, Hoosac Valley, "Cliff the bull" costume
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