During the school year of 1983-84, then fine arts consultant Marcus L. Neiman established the first county visual arts festival for county visual arts students. The show originally lasted over a weekend and was housed in the Buckeye Local Schools, then the Highland Local Schools, Cloverleaf Local Schools, County Fairgrounds, and now at the Cleveland Clinic Medina Medical Office Building/South.
Over the years, the show grew from a weekend show to a four-day show, and then a month-long show. Shortly after the turn of the century, the decision was made, with the cooperation of the administration of Medina Hospital, to allow student visual art work from county students to be displayed on all floors of the Medical Building. The “May Show” was first limited to high school students, then in 2007 limited to those senior students participating in the Medina County Art League “High School Seniors Scholarship Festival.”
The county show continues to provide a forum for students to see the works of other students from across the county. The format is similar to a graduating art major in college who is required to hold a senior show. From 2007 through 2014, only portfolios by graduating high school seniors were accepted for this final show. Starting in 2015, both individual entries and portfolio entries (scholarship and non-scholarship) are accepted.
Additionally, the Medina County Art League presents scholarship awards to the winners of its “High School Seniors Scholarships Program” during the Visual Art Festival.
An outgrowth of the Visual Art Festival is a year-round rotating student artwork display on several floors of the South Medical Office Building. Since its beginning, the festival (in its various forms) has served over 14,000 students.