Local Students’ Artwork Hits The Big Apple

Molly Kaye, 17, of Dix Hills, is at work at Usdan Center last summer. Her work will be on display in Manhattan art galleries this spring.

It’s not every student who is afforded the opportunity to have his or her artwork on display in Manhattan, but a handful who study at a Wheatley Heights arts camp are getting their shot.

Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts is presenting three different student art exhibits in Manhattan this spring. This will be the largest series of off-site exhibits ever shown by the center, which for several years has displayed the work of its visual arts students on Long Island and New York City.

The artists to be displayed were ages 10-18 when the works were created during the 2014 season.

The first show, titled “Humankind: Portraits,” was a set of 13 portraits, some painted, some photographed. It showed at the lobby gallery at 430 Park Ave. through March 31. The artists were Delaney R. Cone, 15, of Patchogue; Molly Kaye, 17, of Dix Hills; Emily Kehrli, 18, of Merrick; Hannah Elise Kline, 14, of Manhasset; Justin Meyer, 16, of Huntington; Madeleine Mottel, 19, of Plainview; and Rachel Spiegler, 13, of Old Bethpage.

The second, simply titled “Humankind,” is on display through April 30, also at 430 Park Ave. It is completely diverse, including photography, painting and images of ceramics pieces. The artists are Christie Brand, 10, of Huntington; Ally Braunschweig, 15, of Jericho; Delaney Callaghan, 16, of Wantagh; Katharine Colgan, 13, of Sea Cliff;  Diya Chadha, 13, of Woodbury; Rachel Dehan, 15, of Commack; Julia Ferrugio, 15, of Farmingdale; Jason Glazer, 14, of Plainview; Kristen Goepfert, 16, of Hicksville; Adrian Ke, 13, of Roslyn Heights; Emily Kehrli;  Jessena Maxwell, 16, of the Bronx; Ethan Means, 13, of Brooklyn; Ava Nederlander, 14, of Manhattan; Sophia Santella, 15, of Centereach; and Sierra Schlesinger, 11, of Merrick.

The third exhibit, titled “On Hope and Humankind,” will show May 7-25 at the 7th floor gallery of the UJA-Federation at 130 East 59th St., with an opening reception on Thursday, May 7 at 6 p.m. Usdan Center is an agency of the UJA, although it is open to all children, and frequently creates works on Jewish themes. Last June, several of its visual arts classes collectively created a Holocaust-themed multi-media piece titled “Hope,” based on interviews with Holocaust survivors, and the work won a first prize in the annual student competition of Long Island’s Museum of Tolerance. The work of all of the student artists in the previous two exhibits will be featured.

The exhibits are free to view. For more information, visit www.usdan.com.