This year, from March 20th to April 7th, Raleigh Arts Council and Wake County have  partnered with the public school art program to hold “Gifts of Gold,” a temporary art exhibit of students’ art. Every art teacher has nominated a student and a piece to go into the showcase. The showcase is held every spring and exhibits work from over one hundred  Wake County art students. It is a long standing tradition, and the “Gifts of Gold” is the only section that is visual arts. “Pieces of Gold” follows performing arts similarly and encompasses theater, dance and chorus.

This year, it is held with a gala at NCMA on Thursday, April 14. “I think it’s a great opportunity for students to be able to participate in a gala at the art museum and exhibit their work in a professional space,” adds Mr. Watson, an art teacher here at Apex (art I and sculpture I & II)

When asked about student submission, Mr. Ferguson, another art teacher at Apex High School (art II and painting, drawing) said, “I submitted Briana Taylor because her piece exemplified the project’s goals, and her piece showed exceptional shape, value, and form we were doing in drawing class. I just think that her piece came out very well and was definitely amongst the best pieces in the portrait unit. She pushed herself to work harder with it, especially on the hair textures and details.” Additionally, Mr. Watson submitted Bee Lindstadt’s piece, a fox-themed tea set called ‘Tea Time with Mr. Fox’. “I think it’s really fun to be able to submit something in 3D and show the variety of skills here at Apex.“ Be sure to stop by and check out the exhibit while it’s still up!