Top works of art from Bucks and Montgomery County high school students are featured in the 34th Annual “Touch the Future” art show, presented virtually this year in collaboration with Montgomery County Community College, beginning on March 19.

“Touch the Future” is a professionally juried art exhibit created in honor of Christa McAuliffe, the NASA teacher and astronaut who passed away in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. McAuliffe’s motto was “I touch the future…I teach.”

Touch the Future is sponsored by the Mideastern Region of the Pennsylvania State Education Association and the Council for the Advancement of Public Schools. MCCC Galleries Director Patrick Rodgers created the virtual venue for the show, which can be viewed on Artsteps Virtual Gallery.

“Despite the challenges over the past year, our teachers have been working diligently to help our students create – whether they are learning virtually or in-person,” said Bill Senavaitis, President of PSEA’s Mideastern Region. “It is so inspiring to see the creativity of our Bucks and Montgomery County public school artists.”

“The virtual show highlights the staggering amount of talent in our schools and the virtual nature of the event allows anyone to view the show at their convenience,” Senavaitis added.

The show launched on Friday, March 19. Two hundred students from 21 local high schools, supported by 74 teachers, participated in the show. The winners of the juried show were selected by Liz Long, Admissions Counselor at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art.

The 2021 show awarded 19 prizes totaling $3,450 to students from 13 high schools across Bucks and Montgomery Counties.

“The entire Montco Family is very proud of the students represented in the show and the opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments,” said Dr. Victoria L. Bastecki-Perez, President of Montgomery County Community College. “We are pleased to partner with the region’s school districts to virtually host the ‘Touch the Future’ Art Show that honors Christa McAuliffe and her motto, particularly this year as MCCC plans to open a Challenger Learning Center at our Pottstown Campus in the fall.”

Collaborating with Challenger Center, a nonprofit founded by the families of the astronauts who passed away in the tragic Challenger accident 35 years ago, MCCC will be bringing the first Challenger Learning Center to Pennsylvania. The Challenger Learning Center will help to bolster the state’s ongoing STEM education initiatives and shape the future by providing hands-on, experiential learning opportunities for thousands of students each year.

Awards

AWARD/CATEGORY	STUDENT NAME	SCHOOL	TITLE	TEACHER
1st Place Best of Show	Kaylee Corbi	North Penn High School	Experiment	Colleen Cooney-Irwin
2nd Place Best of Show	Kaitlyn Pine	Council Rock High School South	Citizenship of motherhood	Michael Catalano
3rd Place Best of Show	Jonah Srulavich	Harriton High School	Trapped in Solitude	Kate Witman
CATEGORY AWARDS
Printmaking	Madeline Fordham	Abington Sr. High School	You But Better	David Ferro
Digital Photography	Olivia Spenser	Neshaminy High School	Wonder	Terry O’Neill
Drawing- Black & White	Jillian Sedlacsik	William Tennent High School	Harmonious Reflections	Wendy Collins
Jewelry/Metals	Julia Hoeffner	Harriton High School	Faces of My Life	Laura Labrinakos
Color Drawing	Sabrina Eisenburg	Central Bucks High School East	Nature’s Kitchen	Helene Moriarty
Fiber Crafts	Megan Lysek-Hagy	Pennridge High School	Bird Jacket	Sarah Moos
Digital Imaging/Computer Graphics	Tristen Santos	Spring-Ford Senior High School	Women’s Victory	Chad Strickler
Painting-Acrylic/Oil	Sophia Choi	North Penn High School	Sea of Stress	Jamie Flynn
Watercolor	April Xiao	Council Rock High School North	Self Portrait	Jim Biglan
2-D Mixed Media	Olivia Dunn	Bensalem High School	Collage of Little Girl	Jocelyn Ulrich
3-D Functional	Kevin Oleksiak	Pennsbury High School	Bottleneck	Jon Twersky
3-D Single Medium Sculpture	Anya Kochanowicz	Springfield Township High School	Me Cubed	Mark Kobasz
3-D Mixed Media Sculpture	Valerie Hafner	North Penn High School	Nightbreed	Joanne Carrick
Dr. Selma Burke Sculpture Award	Taylor Jones	Abington HS	Blue Flower	Katharine Shields
Sue Castle Memorial Award	Sophia Guzman	William Tennent	Black Beauty	Tara Hering
Rosemary Hamilton	Sarah Buckley	William Tennent	Pretty in Pink	Rena Friedant