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Arts & Entertainment

Arts Council Celebrates Teen Artists

The city's new arts council exhibits the work of teen artists at Reyes Adobe Historical Site.

Teenage artists from local junior and senior high schools will compete in the annual Westlake Village Art Guild Student Competition, co-hosted by the ' in their first public event. The exhibit will take place over a two-week period and is being presented at the . 

The juried event will feature works in drawing, painting, sculpture, and photography, and winners selected in each category will receive ribbons and cash prizes.

"Nearly 400 students entered this year's competition, including a large percentage from Agoura Hills and Oak Park," said Amy Jones-Brink, director of the city’s Community Services Department. The finalists were then narrowed down to 39, and their work will be displayed as part of the joint effort between the Art Guild and the city, said Jones-Brink.

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The Agoura Hills Cultural Arts Council is a five-member, city council-appointed body, established in 2010 as part of the Cultural Arts Initiative. Its mission is to provide a road map for the community’s cultural arts future.

“We are honored to be showcasing so many students from the Conejo Valley, but specifically Agoura High,” said Jones-Brink. “The city looks forward to many more cultural arts events for the teen population in our area."

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"The show offers many young artists their first opportunity to compete in a real art show and to have their work hung in a real gallery," said Juliett Chayet Cole, event chairwoman for the Art Guild.

In addition to traditional cash awards, Cole will offer scholarships from the Greg Cole Scholarship Foundation, in honor of her son who passed away in the '70s while attending Agoura High School.

The judges will review the artwork on Tuesday from 12-2 p.m. “The art council was very impressed that these teens, who are busy with school and after-school activities, entered the art show and displayed such talent, reinforcing that Agoura Hills is truly an artists' community,” said Jones-Brink.

An awards reception will be held Friday, April 29, from 4-7 p.m. at the museum.

According to Brink-Jones, the competition is just one of many events, expanding the Reyes Adobe Historical Site into a center for cultural arts within the community. "The landmark is not just about history. It’s becoming our showcase for local contemporary art and culture,” she said.

The artwork can be viewed by the public beginning on Tuesday from 1:30-3 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m.-12 p.m; 1:30-3 p.m. A special public tour will also be conducted on Wednesday, April 27, at 10 a.m.

The non-profit Westlake Village Art Guild was established in 1969, and is composed of artists and others interested in promoting art education and appreciation for the visual arts.

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