Visual Art Festival
History
MEDINA COUNTY SCHOOLS’ VISUAL ART FESTIVAL
History
During the academy 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 Medina General Hospital Medical Center (in Medina).
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 General Hospital, to allow student visual art work from county students to be displayed on the six floors of the Medical Center. 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. Only portfolios by graduating high school seniors are accepted for this final show.
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-around rotating student artwork display on several floors of the Medina General Hospital Medical Center, South Building. Since its beginning, the festival (in its various forms) has served almost 14,000 students.
