Students view the 2011 Al Young Art Show, framed by one of the student art works in the show

The 2012 Al Young Art Exhibition and Competition at Knox College will be judged by Mark Pascale, curator and faculty member at the Art Institute of Chicago. At the opening of the show on Friday, May 4, Pascale will give a free, public lecture at 4 p.m., followed by the award ceremony at 5 p.m., in the Ford Center for the Fine Arts, on the Knox campus in Galesburg, Illinois.

The student art work will be on display through May 11.

The show is part of Horizons: A Celebration of Student Inquiry, Imagination, and Creativity. In 2012, the campus-wide exposition of research, scholarship, and creative work is presented by The Gerald and Carol Vovis Center for Research and Advanced Study in celebration of College's 175th anniversary and the installation of Dr. Teresa L. Amott as the 19th president of Knox College on Saturday, May 5.

Pascale is curator in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago and teaches studio art at the School of the Art Institute. He has organized exhibitions on James Castle, Jasper Johns, Joseph Yoakum, and Edvard Munch. Pascale holds an MFA from Ohio State University and prior to his appointment at the museum, was a working artist specializing in printmaking and drawing.

The Al Young Art Exhibition is named after a 1969 Knox graduate and long-time teacher in Belleville, Illinois, who died in 1993. Young began making gifts toward art prizes in 1968, while still a student. Since 1993, prizes have been supported by gifts from Young's sister, Ann A. Young '68; several of the awards are named in honor of their parents, Albert G. Young and Anna Elisabeth Young. Additional art awards are made possible by Beverly Bender '40 and Blick Art Materials. Blick is also providing additional prizes in all categories and provides on-going in-kind support to the Knox College art program.