Union County Teen Arts Touring Exhibit on Display At Springfield Public Library

The Union County Board of County Commissioners is pleased to announce that the 2026 Union County Teen Arts Touring Exhibit will begin its countywide tour at the Springfield Public Library, located at 66 Mountain Avenue in Springfield. The exhibit will be on display May 21 through July 2, 2026 during the library's regular operating hours.

The exhibit features a selection of visual artwork created by middle and high school students who participated in the 2026 Union County Teen Arts Festival, an annual two-day celebration of creativity in the literary, performing, and visual arts held at UCNJ Union College of Union County, New Jersey's Cranford campus. Several featured works have also been selected for display at the 2026 State Teen Arts Festival, which will be held in June at Middlesex College.

"The Teen Arts Touring Exhibit is a wonderful reflection of the creativity, imagination, and talent that exists throughout Union County," said Joseph C. Bodek. "These students have dedicated themselves to their craft, and this exhibit gives our community the opportunity to celebrate their hard work while encouraging the next generation of artists, storytellers, and creative thinkers."

In celebration of the student artists, an opening reception will be held at the Springfield Public Library on Thursday, May 21, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Following its Springfield debut, the exhibit will continue touring through early 2027 with scheduled stops in Elizabeth, Linden, Plainfield, Scotch Plains, and at the Union County Commissioners Gallery in Elizabeth. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

The 2026 Teen Arts Touring Exhibit includes the following student artists:

Berkeley Heights
Columbia Middle School
Alyeena Sternberg
Governor Livingston High School
Addison Miller and Milagros Romero

Clark
Arthur L. Johnson High School
Kate Gonzalez and Melanie Kwok
Carl H. Kumpf Middle School
Cassy Le
Mother Seton Regional High School
Alyssa Monel and Eunice Odubanjo

Cranford
Cranford High School
Alivia Boone and Nicole Wilson
Lincoln School CAP
Nuno Carvalho
Lincoln School CAP
Maya Andersen and Logan Weber
Orange Avenue School
Gabriella Mott

Elizabeth
Dr. Orlando Edreira Academy
Sabrina Alvarado and Genesis Salas Paro
Elmora School #12
Isabel Dieguez Herrera
Elizabeth High School at Frank J. Cicarell Academy
Hannah Bolhano, Jahlaya Pedro and Jasmie Ulat
JVJ STEM Academy
Hector Perez and Alexander Taveras
Joseph Battin School #4
Nathan Persaud
Thomas Edison Career & Technical Academy
Crystal Mercado
Thomas Jefferson Arts Academy
Sarai Vargas
Victor Mravlag School No. 21
Benjamin Afonso and Edward Afonso
William F. Halloran School No. 22
Margarete Perez

Garwood
Lincoln School
Avery Lee and Lucy Leonard

Kenilworth
David Brearley High School
Victoria Rodrigues

Linden
Linden High School
Chari Theodore and Clerma Romelus
McManus Middle School
Olivia Wlodyka
Soehl Middle School
Mariah Jordan

Mountainside
Deerfield School
Kennedy Moore

Plainfield
Plainfield Academy for the Arts and Advanced Studies Middle School
Juarez Pineda

Roselle
Abraham Clark High School
Joseline Castillo
Grace Wilday Middle School
Briana Mejia Chacon

Roselle Park
Roselle Park High School
Michael Aguanno and Isabella Rodriguez
Roselle Park Middle School
Mina Rodriguez

Springfield
Florence M. Gaudineer Middle School
Noa Kandel
Jonathan Dayton High School
Maya Jaffe and Julissa Santamaria

Scotch Plains
Union County Vocational-Technical Schools
Alexsia Matos

Union
Union High School
Frederich Tan

The Union County Teen Arts Festival and Touring Exhibit are coordinated annually by the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs and the Department of Parks & Recreation to highlight and encourage the exceptional artistic talent of Union County teens. The program is made possible by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information about Cultural and Heritage Affairs programs and services, please contact the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs at 633 Pearl Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07202, call (908) 558-2550, or email [email protected]. NJ Relay users should call 711.