2,000 take part in Sussex County Teen Arts Festival

Nearly 2,000 students in grades 7-12 from schools and studios throughout Sussex County shared original poetry, creative writing, dance, instrumental music, theater, filmmaking, visual art and vocal music at the 54th annual Sussex County Teen Arts Festival on March 16 at Sussex County Community College (SCCC).

Participating schools included Franklin Elementary School, Frankford Twp. School, Green Hills School, Hardyston Middle School, High Point Regional High School, Hopatcong Regional High School, Kittatinny Regional High School, Lenape Valley Regional High School, Newton High School, Pope John XXIII High School, Pope John XXIII Middle School, Sparta High School, Sparta Middle School, Sussex Christian School, Sussex Middle School, Sussex County Technical School and Wallkill Valley Regional High School.

Participating studios included Dance Expression Dance Arts and O’Brien Studio.

The festival is among the first teen arts county festivals of the season, which consists of 19 counties showcasing works and performances.

Sussex County Teen Arts Festival is an ongoing arts-in-education program that promotes appreciation of the arts among teenage students since 1969. It is a member of a New Jersey statewide Teen Arts Network. SCCC has sponsored the Teen Arts Festival in Sussex County since 1989.

The festival encourages middle school and high school students to explore their potential and fine-tune their talents in the fine, literary and performing arts.

For the 2023 festival, 620 pieces of student artwork were on display and 105 live student performances were critiqued and adjudicated. Students tried new art techniques in 24 workshops, master classes and live demonstrations with visiting artists who are professionals in their field.

Student 2D and 3D visual art, including the new categories of architecture design, graphic design and product design, will be on display to the public through Wednesday, April 19 in the A, B and C Galleries at the SCCC Alpha Arts Institute, located on the college’s Newton campus.

Selected student fine art, digital art and photography will be showcased online at the Sussex County Arts and Heritage Council’s virtual gallery in May and at the Bristol Glen Rotunda Gallery through April 24.

Visual art and live performances will be adjudicated and selected to represent Sussex County at the New Jersey State Teen Arts Festival on May 30 to June 1.

The Teen Arts Festival critique process is open to students in Sussex County who pre-registered for the event.

The expansion of the festival further strengthens SCCC and the Teen Arts Festival as leaders in arts education. Students are offered opportunities to demonstrate their personal creative vision and to develop “tools of thought” with which to meaningfully contribute to today’s complex world.

Professional artists who shared their talents at the Sussex County Teen Arts Festival for the first time included Allison Ognibene, Debbie D’Aires, Cheryl Conway, Michele McConnell, Christabel Aidala, Duane McDevitt, Veronica Coyne, Mariann Cook and Joe Guerriero with workshops in improv, recycled art, creative journalism, vocal auditions and more.

Returning workshops included African drumming, chainsaw art, collage, break dancing, portfolio review, Origami, juggling, Sumi painting, hip hop dancing, weaving, wood carving, knitting, collage, blacksmithing and others by artists Campbell Albritton, Billy Barrett, Laura Dempsey, Michael Hughes, Deanna Kwan, Claude Larson, Brett McClain, Thomas McKie, Joanne Mazzeo, Sally Orgren, Brienne Rosner, Ron Schopperth, Frances Singh, Jake Jackson, Katherine Yvinskas, Janice Harrison, Nicole Prior, Gideon Voitlander and Heather Strout.

“With the overwhelming response to student participation, this is a clear sign that the arts are back! Here in the Garden State, we are gardening in culture, and our youth exhibiting their talents at the Teen Arts Festival are our next generation of growth,” said Daniel Cosentino, dean of fine arts and humanities at SCCC and director of SCCC’s newly established Alpha Arts Institute.

“This festival showcases our youth talent, highlights our diversity, and serves to inspire creativity across all forms of artistic expression in an exciting day of hands-on engagement at the state-of-the-art and inspiring setting of SCCC. We are always delighted by the depth of creative expression shown by our local teens in all the visual and performing arts categories.”

The Teen Arts Festival has been made possible through funding from SCCC, School Districts of Sussex County, and donations from individuals and businesses. Funding has been made available in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, through the State/County Partnership Block Grant program, administered by the Sussex County Arts and Heritage Council.