New York State Office of General Services Commissioner RoAnn M. Destito today announced the opening of the 2020 Empire State Plaza Art Collection Student Exhibition on the Empire State Plaza Concourse. Established in collaboration with the Capital Area Art Supervisors and New York State Art Teachers Association, more than 1,300 pieces of work created by students from 18 Capital Region school districts will be on view through March 21. 

“We are proud to be celebrating the 11th year of our annual student art exhibition, which takes full advantage of the great works of art in the Empire State Plaza Art Collection to benefit the young, aspiring artists whose work we are delighted to exhibit during National Youth Art Month.” Commissioner Destito said. “I want to applaud the Capital Area Art Supervisors and my curatorial team at OGS for their efforts at making this exhibit a success each year.”

“This is the 11th year that Capital Area Art Supervisors, or CAAS, has collaborated with NYS OGS in conjunction with National Youth Art Month,” said Kate Wright, K-12 fine arts supervisor for the City School District of Albany and CAAS chair of the exhibit. “We are excited that students in kindergarten through grade 8 have been inspired by the pieces in the Empire State Plaza modern art collection. In creating their own pieces for this extraordinary exhibition, Capital Region students have learned about and connected with historically important art in our own community. It’s been a wonderful opportunity for everyone.”

The student exhibit is the result of a collaboration between the OGS Plaza Art Collection Office and the Capital Area Art Supervisors. Through special tours and educational resources, the program introduces the Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Plaza Art Collection into the curriculum of local elementary and middle schools where the students are invited to create their own works of art by interpreting the collection.

The one-of-a-kind exhibition held each year during National Youth Art Month features works of art created by students in kindergarten through eighth grade. School districts represented include Albany, Amsterdam, Berne-Knox-Westerlo, Bethlehem, East Greenbush, Guilderland, Hoosic Valley, Ichabod Crane, Mohonasen, Niskayuna, North Colonie, Rensselaer, Schalmont, Schenectady, Scotia-Glenville, Shenendehowa, Troy, and Voorheesville.

There will be an opening reception honoring participating students at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 12 at the south end of the Empire State Plaza concourse, which is closest to the Madison Avenue entrance. 

The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza Art Collection consists of 92 modern art paintings, sculptures, and tapestries that were selected by an appointed commission and purchased with state funds during the construction of the Empire State Plaza. Included are works by Alexander Calder, Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, Joan Mitchell, and Mark Rothko. In all, 82 artists who were working in New York are represented.