PHILADELPHIA, PA.- The Annual Young People's Exhibition opens in the Fleisher Art Memorial's Dene M. Louchheim Galleries, December 2–December 16, 2006. The Annual Young People’s Exhibition features work from more than 400 students enrolled in the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial’s Saturday Young People’s Program. This exhibition includes drawing, painting, printmaking and sculpture by young artists (ages five to eighteen), and paintings and drawings by parents enrolled in the Saturday Parent’s painting classes.

The exhibition begins on December 2 and runs through December 16. Opening receptions and awards ceremonies will be held during class times on Saturday, December 2. Performances by students in the Saturday workshop “Cambodian Classical Dance” will be held on Saturday, December 16 at 11:00 a.m. The galleries will be open for viewing from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, with additional hours from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Saturday.

The Saturday Program at Fleisher accommodates students aged five to eighteen and their parents. Participants come from all over the Delaware Valley and reflect the Philadelphia region’s economic and ethnic diversity. Younger children are encouraged to work at their own pace while developing creative thinking and learning the use of materials. The more specific elements of color and design are introduced in the intermediate age groups. Sculpture classes are offered to students aged seven and older. A special Portfolio workshop is also offered for students aged fourteen to eighteen who are interested in developing skills required for admission to post-secondary art programs. Parent’s Painting classes are offered during the same hours as the children’s sessions, offering adults an opportunity to explore their own creative potential.

Established as the Graphic Sketch Club in 1898, The Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial is one of the country’s oldest and largest community-based art centers, providing tuition-free and low-cost instruction in the visual arts for adults and children throughout the Philadelphia region. The Memorial has been administered by the Philadelphia Museum of Art since the death of Samuel S. Fleisher in 1945. Committed to enriching and expanding people’s lives through art, Fleisher offers a wide range of educational, performance, and exhibition activities to encourage personal artistic exploration. Foremost among these activities is the annual Challenge series, the region’s premier juried exhibition program.