Show Presented by ArtconnectED Opens March 21 and continues through April 20 2025
The Illinois High School Art Exhibition program is one of the country’s largest and most influential student art exhibition programs. Each year, over 100 city, suburban, public and private Illinois high schools from across the state converge on the Bridgeport Art Center in Chicago to participate in various exhibition programs. This year’s exhibition features over 1,000 works of art from young artists in over 10,000 square feet of galleries.
The exhibition opens on Friday March 21th during the Bridgeport Art Center’s monthly 3rd Friday Open Studios from 7pm – 10pm Admission is free and open to the public.
Galleries are open daily Monday — Saturday 8 AM — 6 PM Sunday 8 AM — 12 PM.
Illinois High School Art Exhibition Main Event
Sunday, April 13th from 12pm-4pm.
The IHSAE Main Event, Sunday, April 13th, 2025 — The best student artists from 100 Illinois high schools will come together to celebrate the power of art in their lives and showcase their work at the 10th Annual Illinois High School Art Exhibition (IHSAE). They’ll vie for top recognition awards and college scholarships. This event and exhibition includes 2 floors of Galleries exhibiting 1,000 Student Artworks, a College Fair & Vendor Symposium, Artist Workshops, Open Studios, Live Art Competitions, Awards, and More! Doors open at 12 – Noon, followed by the Art Throwdown at 1pm.
Some 4,000 students, teachers, parents, college representatives, school district administrators, and guests are expected to attend the state’s largest high school student art show, which is widely considered the gold standard among high school student art exhibitions nationwide.
The IHSAE features several unique programs for high school art students and K- 12 Art Educators throughout the year. The first of many events is the IHSAE’s Northern Regional Exhibition: a “Best of the Best” show featuring over 500+ works of art in 8 distinct categories from Illinois suburban, public and private high schools, plus a Vendor & Career Expo. The event will also include the Vendor & Career Expo, and College Recruitment Fair. The Senior Scholarship Exhibition will exhibit some 500 senior artworks and recognize scholarship offers totaling over $100 million dollars annually. IHSAE has partnered with more than 40 art schools, colleges and universities from across the nation, most of which will be on hand to meet with students and parents during the College Recruitment Fair. The Early College Program Exhibition will showcase approximately 50 underclassmen awarded life-changing scholarships to summer college experiences. All of the Winners will be recognized at the Awards Table. Digital examples of artwork can be found at ArtConnectED.org
About Art ConnectED:
Started in 2013 with the IHSAE, Art ConnectED is 100% powered by teacher volunteers and has grown out of the passion they bring to making a difference for students, and has since facilitated $350+ million in tuition scholarships cumulatively for more than 2,000 students. The IHSAE advocates for the power of art with exhibitions and other incentives for creative exploration and connections to innovative careers.
Art ConnectED is a not-for-profit with a mission to enhance the creative educational landscape, giving student and teacher artists agency to succeed by connecting them to a variety of remarkable exhibitions, opportunities, and programs, while advocating for and reinforcing the power of art in their lives. Developed by teachers for students, the organization is run by full-time art educators who collaborate with corporate sponsors, art schools/colleges/universities, and participating city, suburban, public and private high schools to celebrate and award the artistic talents of Illinois high school art students. The IHSAE cultivates further connections through a variety of programs, such as the Art Educator Exhibition, Visual Art Educator Summer Institute, Art Throwdown, Mini-Portfolio Events, Blick in-store events, Advocacy Events and Exhibitions, Art Educator Grants and more. For more information,
For more information go to www.artconnected.org or contact:
Chris Sykora, IHSAE Executive Director, at 773-251-3536 or c.sykora@ihsae.org
