BIDDEFORD — Less than a week remains to catch an exhbition of artwork by local school children at the University of New England in Biddeford.

Held in conjunction with the national Youth Art Month, the exhibit features art by students in the classes of Kate Grant, Biddeford Intermediate School art teacher, and Justine Frappier, Dayton Consolidated School art teacher.

Showcased in the exhibition are a dazzling array of Eyeball Color Wheels, Mouse Paint Color Wheels, Giraffes Can’t Dance, Fingerprint Self Portraits, Seabirds, Fall Leaf Black Out Poems, Still Life with Sunflowers, Insect Prints, and Watercolor Landscapes.

Youth Art Month was originally created by the Crayon, Water Color & Craft Institute in 1961, in conjunction with the National Art Education Association.

At first it was named Children’s Art Month and its aim was to emphasize the value of participating in art for all children. In 1969, the observance was renamed “Youth Art Month” and expanded to include art from secondary school students.

In 1984, the Art & Creative Materials Institute, the successor to the the Crayon, Water Color & Craft Institute, established the Council for Art Education to oversee the annual observation of Youth Art Month.  

Today, the annual event encourages support for quality school art programs and advocates for art material safety.

It also serves to promote a commitment to the arts by students, community organizations, and individuals everywhere and recognizes art education as a viable factor in the total education for students that shape and develop citizens of an informed modern society.  

UNE’s Youth Art Month exhibit is entirely free and open to the public.

Art is displayed at the university’s Campus Center at 11 Hills Beach Road in Biddeford between the hours of 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

This year’s exhibition closes Monday, April 2.