Please mention The Long Islander Newspapers when doing business with our advertisers.
www.LongIslanderNews.com
ART
Local Students Make City Debut
Emily Greene of Northport with her artwork, displayed in New York City March 18-26.
Students of Usdan’s Honors Art Collective made their New York City debut with their artwork. By Alessandra Malito amalito@longislandernews.com
Long Island art students of the Usdan Honors Art Collective were given a chance to show their artwork in New York City last week at a gallery show. The exhibit, called “Facets,” featured three-dimensional paintings by seven members of Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts’ most selective program for high school art students. Among students displayed in the exhibit were Dix Hills’ Brandon Wall and Northport’s Emily Green, as well as Leah Anton of Old Bethpage, Maritza Feliciano of Oceanside, Amanda Pinsker of Old Bethpage, Anne Schindler of Rocky Point and Danielle Sternberg of Plainview. “The show was great,” said Usdan teacher Craig Mateyunas. “All the kids were great. They thought it was a really good experience. They were excited to see their work in a space in the city, and they were all happy with how it turned out. People there had a lot of positive things to say.” The Usdan Honors Art Collective is a year-round selective program of advanced studio art, museum study and career preparation for Long Island students in 10th through 12th grades. Membership in the collective begins with a summer of study at Usdan Center and continues with twice monthly fall and winter studio art classes, and frequent visits to New York museums. The students in the program are dedicated to their artwork and improving
their skills. “I think the great thing about the program is that it allows students to work with other kids from other schools who are into art as much as they are. It lets them start forming bonds and forming ties with other people and connections with other students when they go on,” Mateyunas said. His assistant echoed his sentiments. “They’re extremely great. They come in with a lot of knowledge of the art and the art program,” said Hillary Broder. Green and Wall are both hardworking students within the program. “Emily Green is a talented kid but also puts a lot of work into everything she does. She really cares about her artwork and learning new things,” Mateyunas said. “Brandon is a student who is really caring and tries really hard at what he does, and strives to learn stuff in everything he does. He is a very hardworking student who really just wants to learn and understand art and just improve himself as an artist.” The program, which teaches students how to make art as well as speak about their art, is something very helpful to students in the future. “I just think it’s a really great program. It definitely offered me so many opportunities in the college application process,” Green said. “It taught me to speak about my work.” She suggested anybody who is majoring in the fine arts or visual arts to participate. For more information, visit www.usdan.com.
THE HALF HOLLOW HILLS NEWSPAPER • MARCH 25, 2010 • A13