Idyllwild Arts Academy (IAA) debuts its spring 2023 off-site student exhibition with a reception from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, May 5, at Melissa Morgan Fine Art Gallery, 73-660 El Paseo, Palm Desert, a prestigious contemporary gallery in the heart of El Paseo

The IAA Visual Arts students are excited to show their work once again to the desert audience, providing students with a unique taste of what it’s like to participate in the professional world of fine art.

Following the reception, gallery visitors can walk a block to the gallery’s outdoor sculpture garden for the student songwriting concert featuring original compositions from rock, pop and alternative to rhythm and blues and progressive soul.

The exhibition, which is free and open to the public, also will be on view from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 6, and will feature the year’s best visual works from the arts high school that has been changing lives through the transformative power of art for more than 70 years.

Curated by Visual Arts Department Chair Linda Santana along with the Visual Arts faculty, the exhibition showcases over 50 works of art from 35 students, which were chosen as standout examples of the high level of creativity and technical accomplishment from artists in grades nine to 12. All of the artwork in the exhibition will be for sale, with 100% of the proceeds going to the artist and to the IAA Visual Arts Department. For more information, visit www.idyllwildartsgallery.org/2023-va-showcase.