It may not be some fancy art gallery in a little nook in NewYork City, but the Lincoln County Public Library in downtownBrookhaven suits Mississippi School of the Arts students justfine.

The last of the senior showcases, which began two weeks ago, areon display in the main lobby of the library until Monday. Artistswere on hand Thursday for their art reception as students andcommunity members enjoyed their artwork.

“It helps them and us to see what they’ve managed to accomplishin their two years at MSA,” said Visual Arts Instructor AnneO’Hara.

Senior showcases for the visual arts students are almost likethat big essay at the end of the school year, but most studentsenjoy showcasing their best pieces of art from their time atMSA.

“For a lot of people, it’s the first time they displayed theirartwork for the public,” said visual arts senior HarleyHollenstein, who has work currently on display.

For their showcases, the seniors have a few pieces theyspecifically work on throughout the year to include into theirexhibit and they pick from work they have completed while at MSA tocompile at least a dozen pieces for show.

While the seniors have created quite a bit of different types ofart while using different mediums, the seniors whose work is ondisplay said choosing the right pieces for their exhibit is easyafter all the knowledge they have acquired throughout theyears.

“We can critique everything pretty harshly,” said senior visualarts student Hunter Johnson, whose work is currently ondisplay.

Like a true art show, the students are required to configurewhere to put each piece and how to set up their displays.

“If you don’t think about the placement of the pieces, it justdoesn’t have the same visual impact,” said O’Hara.

Furthering the true art show experience are the critics. O’Harahas other visual arts students complete a survey to fill out as away of critiquing their peers’ work.

“I think the students that put the show up deserve some feedbackand I think it’s good for other students to make some judgment onthe quality of the work,” said O’Hara.

Visitors to the library will be in for an eye-popping experienceas Johnson, Hollenstein and Eric Arvizo, whose work is also ondisplay, have all received numerous awards for their artwork at theregional level. Some of Johnson’s work has also received nationalrecognition.

“I won’t consider (my art) finished until I’m satisfied withit,” said Arvizo.

O’Hara attributed some of the reasoning as to why the studentsbecome so talented while at MSA to the environment.

“They feed off each other quite a bit,” said O’Hara.