Eleven talented teenagers from the Dartmouth High School’s AP studio art program showed off their work at the Cultural Center on Friday evening.

The exhibit drew in quite a crowd, as the students and their families chatted with teachers, parents, and friends over tables of snacks and sweets.

“They’re such a talented group,” AP studio art teacher Christine McFee commented.

“They could all seriously move on to college for art, but they all aren’t — four or five of them are. There’s only eleven in the class...they’re so multi-talented. They have a lot of passions, it’s not just the arts.

“It’s also a really nice group — you know, they all get along. It’s such a pleasant environment with them. They’re smart, they’re talented, they’re passionate. They really support each other.”

The Dartmouth Cultural Center’s Kathy Delsordo was pleased to help host the event at the Olde Southworth Library.

“We’re excited to have them,” she said. “It’s just so nice to have young energy here.”

The exhibit will be open through the weekend.

McFee noted that the artists used a wide range of materials, from the classic graphite and charcoal to colored pencils, acrylic, tempura paint, inks, and more.

“Oona [Clarke], for instance — she doesn’t like to stretch her canvases, she’s got this interactive thing going. So she’s sort of doing something different...she really wants people to lift and look.

“Kaitlyn [Ouellette] is not going to school for art because she’s into environmental biology, so she’s talking about how we’re ruining the environment, killing our turtles with plastic bags, you know.

“They’re bringing their passion in the other realms into their art, which is really nice to see.”

As for the turnout, McFee said, “So far so good...It’s been a steady flow, which is great.”

18-year-old artist Kate Jones has been making art since the beginning of high school.

“I just think it’s really relaxing and it’s just a nice way to sort of focus on something for a long time,” she said.

Although she plans on studying chemistry in college, Jones hopes to continue making art.

Celina Costa, also 18, has taken art classes since her freshman year.

She cited Bob Ross as an early influence, especially in her landscape paintings.

“I did a series of landscapes, which is the two from Portugal. My other stuff is kind of everywhere — it goes from a bird, to a flower, to hearts on the back. So it’s kind of all over the place, there’s no connection. There’s a lot of color.”

Some of the artists have tackled very personal subjects. Victoria Houde, 17, uses printing in most of her art.

“For the most part, my concentration is based on dealing with the grief of losing someone that you love,” she said.

“So it kind of explores the different beliefs when it comes to religion, or spiritual beliefs, and how different people deal with that.”

Houde’s artist mentor passed away in December. She had done an internship with him and stayed on after the program ended.

“We joined the program in order to make pieces for a show after six months. And then once the show was over, he invited me to keep working with him. So we met twice a week for a really long time.”

Houde likes to use a process called dry point, etching a piece of plexiglass with a diamond cut tool and then inking it to make prints.

It takes her a few weeks to do most of her pieces, although one triptych took her a whole month to complete.

18-year-old Rebecca Benoit was all smiles after selling her first work of art — a colored pencil drawing of a pair of red shoes.

A man bought the piece for his wife, who was thrilled with it. “Thank you, it’s beautiful,” she told Benoit. “I’m very, very impressed.”

Benoit has been doing art since the seventh grade, but really started getting serious about it in sophomore year.

“I’m going to MassArt this fall, which I’m very very excited about,” she said.

“I honestly didn’t think of art as a career until the art program at Dartmouth. All of the art teachers are so welcoming, and they kind of like just took us all in.”

The show will be open from 11-3 on Sunday for its final day.