Brandon Johnson, South Shore Arts gallery coordinator, says the balancing, hanging artwork of suspended focal points, i.e. “mobiles,” are best described today as “a lost art.”

“Mobiles used to be extremely popular and more common, but you just don’t see them as much since there’s certainly a technique to building and balancing them,” Johnson said.

“We have one or two in our current exhibit suspended from the ceiling, and they do get attention.”

Mobile construction is just one of the various mediums of student artwork talent highlighted for the milestone 50th Anniversary annual Junior/Senior High School Exhibition hosted by South Shore Arts.

Johnson said with nearly 1,000 pieces on display through May 12, this is one of the most popular free student exhibits showcased annually, and for the past 35 years it has been showcased at The Center for Visual and Performing Arts in Munster.

Both junior and senior high schools from Lake, Porter and La Porte counties in Indiana and schools in south suburban Cook County in Illinois, are annually invited to submit artwork for the juried exhibition, which features original artwork created by students in grades six through 12 from public, private, and parochial schools.

This year, 32 high schools and seven middle schools participated, a significant increase from last year.

“Once again we’ve arranged all of the schools by section, and we have all of the high schools in the main Bachman Gallery, and all of the middle schools displayed in the atrium lobby gallery.”

Prizes totaling more than $12,000 will be awarded this year at 1 p.m. May 5 during an awards ceremony in the Bachman Gallery.

“This year we are proud to present several new awards including a new scholarship presented by Indiana University Northwest’s School of Fine Arts to their arts program, the Sandi Kozlowski Memorial Moving Art Forward Award for $1000, along with two $500 awards donated by Carrie Bhasin in memory of Jean Mudroncik, amongst the many more awards ranging from $25 to $500,” Johnson said.

“In total we will be giving out more than 60 individual awards to participating students.”

This year’s 2024 juror for the event is Art Barn Executive Director Amy Davis Navardauskas, an established artist in Northwest Indiana and previously leadership team member of the Lubeznik Center for the Arts in Michigan City, serving as the marketing director for Lubeznik for 10 years.

Johnson said judging is challenging since so many types of artwork mediums are included, from “standard” art stylings such as painting, drawing, ceramic, clay sculptures, photography and printmaking, to “involved” mediums such as metal sculptures, soap carving, fabric work and paper creations.

“It’s not easy for me to pick my own personal favorite artwork medium, but I am very fond of sculpture and ceramics, especially for the recreation of everyday items,” Johnson said.

“There’s a purse that was created as a sculpture on display this year, and it looks so real, I find myself doing a double-take every time I see it sitting as part of the display.”

Philip Potempa is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.