Art created by area teens and artist educators is taking center stage at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley (MSV) from February 8 through March 3 as part of the Museum’s Art in the Halls program.

Twenty-one works created by 12 area artists are on view in the Annual Teen Art Club Exhibition, and a companion exhibition—Impact—displays 16 works by P.E. (Patience Emily Wyman Shirk) and Meredith Stenberg, both local artists and art educators in Virginia public schools.

All the works by teens were created by participants in the MSV Teen Art Club, a monthly program held at the Museum and presented in collaboration with ShenArts. Works on view were made by artists ranging in age from 13 to 19 and include paintings, photography, drawings, and mixed-media creations.

According to Curry Schiavone, MSV youth and family programs manager and Teen Art Club leader, Teen Art Club provides a museum space for artistically minded teens to gather, socialize, and explore a variety of topics. Monthly activities range from visiting MSV exhibitions and sketching to presentations from guest speakers. The annual exhibition provides the opportunity for student artists to exhibit their artwork in a gallery setting.

While 2024 is the fourth year that the MSV and ShenArts have presented a Teen Art Club Exhibition, this year marks the first time that the display has been shown alongside an exhibition of works by art educators. “These exhibitions are a celebration of the importance of art in education,” says Christy Broy, coordinator of the Art in the Halls program and the Museum’s Guest and Retail Services Manager.

Impact presents art that Patience Emily Wyman Shirk and Meredith Stenberg have created in their own studios. The display features four paintings by Stenberg, including a vibrant 36-inch-square depiction of a peony bloom and another of a fawn among a stand of birch trees. Many of the twelve mixed-media pieces by Shirk depict an imaginary world inhabited by whimsical creatures. All of the works presented in Impact are available for purchase. In addition, stickers of the quirky critters featured in PE’s works are available for purchase in the Museum Store.

On view in the first floor of the MSV galleries building, the Teen Art Club Exhibition and Impact are open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday (closed Monday). Museum admission is not required to visit Art in the Halls.

Teens interested in learning more about the Teen Art Club are invited to attend the group’s next gathering from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on March 14. During the March program, participants will learn how and why artists create portfolios of their work. While attendance at Teen Art Club is free, advance registration for the monthly meetings is required and may be completed online at www.theMSV.org or by calling 540-662-1473, ext. 240.

A regional cultural center, the MSV is located at 901 Amherst Street in Winchester, Virginia. The MSV includes a galleries building that presents permanent and rotating exhibitions, the Glen Burnie House, seven acres of formal gardens, and The Trails at the MSV, a free-admission art park open daily from 7 a.m. to dusk. The galleries are open year-round Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through December). The house and gardens are open April through December. Additional details are available at www.theMSV.org or by calling 540-662-1473, ext. 235.