Some say that the new “young” is 40, maybe 50 years old – at least when it comes to defining artists of any medium as emerging, up-and-coming, “hot.” Forget that: We want to see what’s being made by teenagers, those whom our society has pushed out of any job market for the time being and seems intent on not seeing as well as not hearing – at least in terms of political demographics and museum showings, media interviews and publishing. That is why we and so many in the region now find the annual “Teen Visions” exhibition and performances, put on by the Poughkeepsie-based but regionwide Mill Street Loft program at Vassar College’s Palmer Gallery, both important and a needed tonic to everything else going on these days.
“Teen Visions ’12: Words, Dance and Sounds” opens with a 5 p.m. reception and 7 p.m. performances of music, dance and original poetry by high school students from the Mill Street Loft’s Art Institute and girls’ empowerment programs, as well as the Stringendo ensemble, the Cappella Festiva Treble Choir and dancers from the New York Academy of Ballet, on Thursday, January 19. Visual works in the show – which always proves both richly varied and exciting, as well as a demonstration as to why nearly all Mill Street Art Institute students get into the nation’s top visual arts programs – include paintings, drawings, mixed media, photography and sculpture by students hailing from almost every Mid-Hudson school district, county, town, village and city.
Once up, as of the 19th, “Teen Visions ’12” will stay on view through February 9.
The Palmer Gallery is located in Vassar’s main building, on the campus located just off Raymond Avenue in Poughkeepsie. For further information contact the Mill Street Loft Art Institute at (845) 471-7477 or by visiting www.millstreetloft.org.
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