Works of Orange County teen artists given the spotlight at Anaheim’s Center Gallery
The Assn. of Designers and Artists started with one idea: to provide and connect local teenage artists with the chance to sell or feature their art in the public eye.
Sage Hill senior Jennifer Huang said she knew opportunities had to exist for artists like her, but she didn’t know where to look. That’s when Huang decided to start an organization to help locate, identify and provide those resources to young artists. She herded a few of her friends from different local high schools, co-founders Julianna Hsu and Coco Wen, to help her make it happen.
Members of the Assn. of Designers and Artists pride themselves on operating an independent group, though they have a small branch on campus at Sage Hill.
Hsu, who goes to Arnold O. Beckman High School in Irvine, said all the artists in the organization join via an application process during which they are asked to submit a small portfolio and are evaluated for quality by the group’s four-person board. The only requirement is that the artists are still in high school.
Finding opportunities to stage an exhibit is a matter of scouring every inch of the internet, according to Hsu, who said she, Huang, Wen and board member Joy Qu spend much of their time after school calling and emailing every fair or exhibition they can find.
“Even if it’s a one-in-a-million chance,” she said. “A lot of the time, we don’t get responses because we started out as a high school organization, but if we persevere and persist in these advances there are organizations and city councils that are willing and eager to help us spread these resources.”
The group started last January. Now, one year later, the Assn. of Designers and Artists is hosting its first official exhibition themed “Moments of Youth,” at the Center Gallery in downtown Anaheim. The exhibition opened on Jan. 5 and will run until Feb. 8. Their official reception was held Thursday night.
“This was a great chance to showcase and encourage young artists. Center Gallery is a boutique gallery in our Downtown Anaheim Community Center, near the Anaheim Packing House, Center Street Promenade, City Hall and Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center, our city’s largest gallery,” Anaheim spokesman Mike Lyster said Thursday.
“The young artists of ‘Moments in Youth’ are part of gallery space that has hosted some notable local artists,” Lyster continued. “We’ve been fortunate to recently host Hayden Evans, an Irvine artist known for his work with Disney, and Gustavo Jaime, an Anaheim resident who has worked with the Anaheim Ducks, as part of a Halloween exhibit. That’s inspiring for young artists to know they’re on the same stage as more established working artists and encourages them in their works and art careers. We encourage everyone to come check it out. The exhibit is a mix of paintings, sketches, watercolors, portraits, sculptures and digital works, including some inspired by graphic novels, anime and pop art.”
Hsu said the theme of the exhibition came from wanting to convey that youth, including those who are artists, can’t be conveyed by a single brushstroke.
“It’s not a singular art style. It’s varied and that variety describes your youth. Childhood isn’t a singular stretch, but phases of time. Each artist and work experiences that differently,” Hsu said. “But, honestly, it also has a separate meaning: All these artists are young and are experiencing all different kinds of things. Yes, we are high schoolers, but we can and are still doing amazing things.”
About 30 to 40 pieces are being displayed from the association’s 30-plus members, including pieces from Huang, and member Sissi Ly.
Huang, who works in several media, said her favorite piece of the artworks she had on display is a sculpture she made of cigarette butts that she calls “Termites.”
The piece was constructed from cigarette butts that she collected as part of beach cleanups with the Surfrider Foundation and sawdust from her school’s theater department as a warning to her father, who she said has been smoking for years.
“Termites can destroy a home,” Huang said. “When you smoke, it doesn’t just affect you, but it affects your family members too.”
Ly said the set of acrylic paintings she created is called “Greed.” They were inspired by an image she saw in a film, though she can’t recall what the film was now.
“This character had an eating disorder and kept eating inedible things. I thought that was a really powerful image and I wanted to use that concept to convey how people always want to consume things that are out of their reach or always needing more,” Ly said. “Consuming it, literally, conveys that same message.”
Ly said she joined the association because she knew Huang. She said she was glad to have her work exhibited at the Center Gallery so it could be viewed by a wide audience.
“It’s difficult to get exposure in terms of being a teenage artist, especially. It’s a super nice platform for other people to see what I’ve been working on outside of school and [for them to] get to know me more,” said Ly, who hopes to pursue art in college. “I’m excited for the public to see my art. It’s not something that happens all the time. I’m glad I could have it on display for people to come check it out.”
Center Gallery is located at 250 E. Center Street, Anaheim. Hours for the “Moments in Youth” exhibit are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 8 a.m.. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
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