Quick look: Featuring more than 350 pieces by transitional kindergarten through 12th-grade students, the 2025 Junior Art Exhibit at the Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach opens July 2 in Partnership with OCDE and Arts Orange County. Selected from nearly 1,800 submissions, the display includes works by students with disabilities and 13 student-created films, showcasing creativity, inclusion and the importance of arts education.
More than 350 pieces of artwork created by Orange County students will be featured in the 2025 Festival of Arts of Laguna Beach as part of the Junior Art Exhibit, which opens July 2 and runs through Aug. 29.
Set in an open-air gallery and staged alongside professional artworks, the exhibit has been a signature component of the annual Festival of Arts Fine Art Show since its inception in 1947. Each year, it provides a platform for TK-12 students from public, private, charter and home schools to share their creativity with a wider audience, while promoting the importance of arts education and self-expression.
This year, 1,772 student entries were submitted through OCDE’s OCArts4All Student Art Showcase. A panel of art professionals selected 337 pieces for inclusion in the exhibit.
“Celebrating student creativity through events like this is critical to student well-being and their sense of connectedness to the community,” said Scott Fitzpatrick, visual and performing arts coordinator for the Orange County Department of Education.
“The OCArts4All Student Art Showcase is a great opportunity to provide space for discussions between teachers at TK-12 schools and colleges and arts organizations in Orange County that will support OCDE’s vision that Orange County students will lead the nation in college and career readiness and success.”
Also featured in this year’s exhibit are 23 works originally submitted to the Orange County Arts and Disability Festival, which received more than 700 student pieces in May. These selections reflect the continued commitment to inclusive arts programming and representation.
“We are grateful for continuing this partnership with the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts and for their inclusion of artwork by students with disabilities,” said Marleena Barber, director of Orange County Arts and Disability and a visual and performing arts consultant for OCDE. “Their pieces were so seamlessly integrated into the overall Junior Art Exhibit. This is a true example of inclusion.”
In addition to the traditional visual art display, this year’s Junior Art Exhibit will once again feature a growing film and animation category. Thirteen student-produced works will be presented during the run of the festival, following a private screening for young filmmakers at Irvine Valley College earlier this year.
“Student creativity takes many forms, and it’s exciting to see how schools are embracing animation and digital media to tell meaningful stories,” Fitzpatrick said.
The exhibit is one of several venues where student artwork selected through OCDE’s showcase is featured. Other opportunities include the OCArts4All display at Crystal Court in Costa Mesa, Irvine Valley College, and Laguna College of Art & Design’s annual “Color It Orange” exhibit for high school students.
To explore this year’s featured student artwork, visitors can view the Junior Art Exhibit flip book at foapom.com, or watch the Film and Animation showcase here.