The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery has teamed up with the NZQA to showcase the outstanding art created by students from the New Plymouth District.
The exhibition Top Art 2020, coming to the New Plymouth District Council (NDPC)-run art gallery from June 22-26, presents NCEA Level 3 student artwork that achieved Excellence in Visual Art during 2019.
The gallery features two students from Spotswood College.
Spotswood's Esmeralda Dalgleish's"'No Labels" was inspired by her two brothers, who both have high-functioning autism, while Gemma Clarges' "The Chaos of Chance and Choice" was inspired by mathematics. She has since gone on to study architecture.
Their work will feature in a Northern tour of galleries from Kerikeri to Hawke's Bay and will run in the New Plymouth gallery's Todd Energy Learning Centre.
New Plymouth Girls' High School student Portia Roper documented her grandmother's day-to-day life through photography, and features in the Southern leg of the tour.
Her mother Kris White, is a member of the Koru Collective of Artists that runs Koru Galleries, and her work features in the Taranaki and Oakura Arts Trail.
"We're delighted to see the incredible artwork from young Taranaki artists in both the Northern and Southern tours of New Zealand," NPDC culture and recreation manager Teresa Turner said.
"This is a chance to showcase the exceptional design, paint, photography, printmaking and sculpture artworks being made by secondary school students."
The Top Art 2020 exhibition comes as the gallery restarts its education programming under alert level 1.
Sunday family art sessions return on June 21.
Young visionaries and school holiday art will be back in July.
Look out for further details on the Govett-Brewster What's on page.
The education team continued to bring family art to audiences during lockdown, when weekly art activities were posted on Instagram, including a family art video series.
Top Art 2020 Fast Facts
• Top Art is an annual touring exhibition featuring a selection of the NCEA Level 3 portfolios that achieved Excellence in Visual Art in the previous year.
• Five streams are covered: design, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture.
• Top Art provides an opportunity for secondary students and teachers to gain an understanding of what is required to achieve Excellence at Level 3, while members of the public get to see the high-quality art being created in schools.
• The Top Art Exhibition travels the country until September; the Northern Tour covers Kerikeri to Hawke's Bay, the Southern Tour covers Whanganui to Invercargill.
• The Govett-Brewster Education team runs free, weekly public programming at the Gallery, including drop-in Sunday family art sessions, after school and school holiday art classes.