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At the opening of the Young at Art exhibit, juice boxes replaced the typical offering of white wine.

The showcase of artwork by students in pre-kindergarten to 12th grade featured portraits, landscapes and sculpture

All if the artists are participants in the Studio in A School Program, which sends professional artists into schools to teach art that connects to the curriculum.

"It's an Emperor penguin and it can't fly," explained aspiring artist Kathryn Ritchie of her work. "It's very cool because they could fly like a million years ago."

"In my class I was doing a design of a bird house and then I made a bird to go with it," added Jamie Cooke, another aspiring artist.

Artist Tom Cahill heads the 32-year-old organization.

"Exposure to art does amazing things for kids," said Cahill. "It builds a fascination with materials, and all the works you see tonight are really priceless. They're the things that result from a child's imagination, from exploring materials, from developing skills over time."

These young artists are also incredibly prolific.

"I made thousands and thousands of projects and one of my favorite was making paper-mâché models," said young artist Logan Brodsky.

Organizers say the show, which was presented at Affirmation Arts in Hells Kitchen, can give a big boost to a budding art career.

At the opening, Agnus Gund, grand dame of the New York City arts scene, showed up to check out the artwork. Gund founded Studio in a School in 1976, when City Hall could barely run itself let alone fund art education. She says the art works on the walls show what a success the program has been.

"The caliber is terrific and I think it's due to the fact that they have good supplies they have terrific teachers," said Gund. "And it gets many of the children to talk a lot more to verbalize because they talk about what they're going to do and then what they make."

Gund had great reviews for the latest works.

"I think what the outcome is sometimes more magical than adult art," she said.

For more information on the program, go to StudioInASchool.org.