17th Annual CAC Peoria Area Juried High School Art Exhibition

The Contemporary Art Center is proud to show off the outstanding work of our area high school students. Students may enter up to two pieces. All area high schools are invited to participate. The teachers from most schools usually organize the students’ work and deliver it but any individual high school age student may enter on their own. We are grateful for the dedication teachers possess to promote and educate their students.

See PROSPECTUS on the right for more details. Print out the ENTRY FORM.

The annual exhibit was founded in 2004 by Executive Director William Butler and his former high school teacher Michael Hagenbuch, then newly retired from Limestone Community High School. Hagenbuch served as the first juror/judge and for some years after continued to volunteer in support of the exhibit.

Due to disruption from the pandemic, 2019 was the last year we offered this exhibit. In that year, 118 works were displayed in the gallery chosen from 177 works submitted by 111 students representing six area high schools. The exhibit is designed to simulate typical juried art exhibits in which artists typically pay fees of $25-40 to submit work that may not be chosen by the juror to be displayed.

Each year, a retired high school art teacher serves as the juror and judge, choosing which works will be exhibited as well as designating pieces deserving of special honor with awards of Outstanding Achievement, Honorable Mention and Merit. Besides a ribbon, each award winner receives a scholarship towards an art class at the Contemporary Art Center.

The juror/judge for this year’s exhibit is Chuck Flagg, who taught art at IVC High School in Chillicothe for 38 years, as well as at Bradley, ICC and other places. He is a pinhole photography enthusiast heavily involved in two international pinhole photography organizations. A fulltime functional potter all his life, he continues to operate Flagg Pottery with his wife Patty since starting the business in 1975.