The Evergreen Center for the Arts called for submissions for their teen exhibition in November of 2020. Their theme was ‘Hear Me’ and it focused on issues facing today’s teenagers. 

     The center received over a hundred submissions for the gallery. Due to limited space, they only accepted 51 works. They will be representing over 20 schools in Colorado. 

     The exhibition has prizes for the top three pieces. First place winner will receive 200 dollars, second place will get 150 dollars, while third will take 100. The pieces are judged based on a number of factors.

     Director of Exhibitions and Marketing, Sara Miller, said, “I met with the teen council and went through all the submissions. It took about three hours, and they talked about every submission from artistic ability to how the piece meets the theme of the show. They got really in-depth. I was amazed at the conversations.”

     Artists also set prices for their pieces, and if bought, receive 60% of the price. Most galleries would take 50% of the sale. The Evergreen center offers a better situation for the artists.

     Artists will be notified of the results on January 14th. They will then drop off their artwork in the following days. The award ceremony will take place on January 22nd, 4-7pm over Zoom. 

     Due to COVID restrictions, only a certain number of people will be able to view the exhibition at a time. All visitors are required to wear masks. 

     “We can have 25 people in the gallery at once. What we have done is created a sign up form where people, just for opening night, can have 30 minute shifts. After opening night, we tend to be pretty quiet and we just leave the hours open without having a sign up,” Miller said. 

Sara Miller joined the arts center in January of last year, before COVID really struck. Before joining the arts center, she wrote about art in a column for the Canyon Courier. 

Miller said, “It’s just such an amazing place to be [Center for the Arts Evergreen] because we provide opportunities for the local artists to show their work. It’s a community center that’s focused on art so it gives people a place to gather and a place to express themselves.”