8th Annual Portland Schools Art Show

This May Day, creative students from across the city will share their artwork at Portland City Hall in the 8th Annual Portland Schools Art Show.

The exhibition, sponsored by the Portland Education Partnership and funded through the Maine Arts Commission, consists of over 1000 pieces of art in a variety of media. The art show opens on May 1st with music at the front doors of City Hall.
“City Hall is a natural gallery space for exhibiting artwork and showcasing the skills and talents of our city's student artists,” said Nancy Sanchez, Lincoln Middle School Art Specialist. “You can see first hand the quality programs currently available to our kids within the Portland Public Schools.”

In recent months, arts education has been a hot topic in schools throughout the country, a fact not lost on Susan Steele, Director of Portland Education Partnership: “Art education is important in developing the kinds of skills and work habits students need in the 21st century - tools like creativity, collaboration and problem solving.”

The Portland Public Schools 8th Annual Student Art Show will be free to the public at City Hall from May 1-15, weekdays from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The May Day celebration is also open to the public from 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. and will feature music by Portland's students, as well as refreshments by Portland Arts and Technology culinary students. For over 30 years, the Maine Arts Commission has been helping artists and arts organizations bring more music, dance, poetry, painting and other arts activities into the lives of people in Maine. It is an independent state agency funded by the Maine State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts - www.mainearts.gov.