HARRISBURG  – HACC is adding to the cultural, social and educational environment of midtown Harrisburg with the opening of Fenêtre Gallery at Midtown 2 on the corner of Third and Reily streets. The gallery will offer exhibits of contemporary art work of emerging and established artists.

The first exhibit opens Friday, March 16 with “Visions and Voices: The 2012 South Central Pennsylvania Scholastic Art and Writing Awards,” sponsored by Commonwealth Connections Academy, an online public school. A reception will be held opening day from 6-8 p.m. It coincides with “3rd in the Burg,” when galleries host special exhibitions and events throughout the city the third Friday of each month.

Students in seventh through 12^th-grade were recognized for their creative excellence in 28 different categories ranging from poetry to journalism and painting to comic art. They represent schools in Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Juniata, Lebanon, Perry and York counties, showcasing their talents and having their entries judged by area artistic and literary professionals.

This exhibit contains paintings, drawings, photography and three dimensional works from students who had their works judged by area art groups like The Art Institute of York, Susquehanna Art Museum, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.

The gallery name is French for “window.” The name was selected for the interior window that is part of the original architecture that remains in the gallery space. The window creates an opening between the exhibit space and the reception area where light enters the building through a skylight. Metaphorically, the name is a reference to a window as an opening into the imagination.

Fenêtre Gallery is in a historic landmark in midtown. Constructed early in 1917, Midtown 2 was the home of Evangelical Press, a printing company, for decades before being turned into a state office and laboratory building in the 1970s. Today the building has been completely restored and upgraded to meet the varied needs of nearly 2,500 students enrolled in HACC’s trade and technology programs.

Hours for the gallery will be 5-7 p.m. Thursday and 6-8 p.m. Friday and by appointment. Events are free and open to the public. Entrance to the building is at 1500 Third St. The gallery is on the second floor.

For more information contact Kim Banister, gallery coordinator, by email, kebanist@hacc.edu, or telephone, 717-780-2435.