Gallerist Eric Charest-Weinberg will be giving the students of the Miami Design District’s Design and Architecture Senior High School (DASH) their first big break. The best artwork done by juniors and seniors will be presented in an exhibition at the Charest-Weinberg Gallery (250 NW 23rd Street – Space 408) on March 14th, 2009, from 7 to 10 PM during the Wynwood Gallery Walk. All proceeds from sales of the work at this special event will go directly to the student artists.

Students featured in the exhibition include: Christopher Bender, Alejandro Cercas, Marcela Escobar, Victor Fernandez, Jasmine Nones-Newman, Lauren Robie, Paula Stevenson, Mei Fung Su, Danielle Zaslavskaya and Thomas Zenteno.

The 24-year old Charest-Weinberg, whose gallery is now celebrating its second season in the Wynwood Arts District, hand-selected the work of the ten students to be featured in this unique exhibition. “I wanted to do something that would directly benefit students that are looking towards art as their life’s work. Throughout my education, I had the benefit of tremendous access to the arts. It allowed to me to follow my passion. Giving these kids a real gallery exhibition and establishing them within the context of a curated show is a great opportunity to push them to follow their own.”

“It is not often that high school students are presented the chance to participate in a truly professional endeavor; especially in today’s competitive art world,” said DASH Principal Stacey Mancuso. “Mr. Charest-Weinberg recognizes these challenges and has responded by this creating this wonderful opportunity. I am honored that Eric has selected DASH as his venue for inquiry. The students are truly delighted to be associated with the exhibition.”

In addition to showcasing new work from the participating students, each artist has been asked to compose their own text to accompany the work that they will be displaying.

HOME Miami & Florida Travel + Life will be sponsoring this one night only event.

In addition, the Charest-Weinberg Gallery has partnered with a number of local business who have agreed to donate to this exhibition including: Impress Digital Printing Solutions impressmiami.com, Clic::Studio Photography clicstudio.com and USA Frame usaframe.com.