WEIRTON — Age is irrelevant when it comes to possessing a natural gift for art.

And several local high school students are proving it.

Beginning today, the sixth-annual High School Student Art Exhibition will take place inside the Summit Art Gallery, located at 243 Three Springs Drive, Suite 17, in Weirton.

The special exhibit is being hosted by the Top of West Virginia Arts Council, a committee of the Top of West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The event is free of charge and open to the public.

Students from Brooke, Madonna and Oak Glen high schools will participate in the show, whose theme this year is Lost and Found. The opening reception is set from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. today. Light refreshments will be served.

The exhibition will remain available for viewing until Dec. 18 and can be seen during the gallery’s business hours, which are from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Residents are encouraged to visit the gallery during the duration of the show not only to view, but to truly appreciate the talent of young artists throughout the area.

Although the exhibition is not a competition between schools, it is a competition within each school’s works. Five students from each of the participating school will receive award ribbons, beginning with first place. Seven Ranges Entertainment is sponsoring this year’s prizes.

Jurors will consist of teachers and a member of the arts council. The teacher from the school that is being judged will abstain in the voting process.

Many pieces of the artwork will be available for purchase, as labeled. The art may be any of the traditional mediums, including sculpture and digitally-produced works, according to arts council members.

Members of the Top of West Virginia Arts Council, a subcommittee of the Top of West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau, work to promote the visual arts and assist the bureau with its goals and objectives. Council members believe young artists should be encouraged and promoted wherever and whenever an opportunity is available.

This exhibit happens to be one of those opportunities. A time when students can exercise their creativeness by expressing that talent through art.

The arts council is focused on developing arts and culture in Brooke and Hancock counties, with new exhibitions held at the Summit Art Gallery every two months.

The Top of West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau is an independent nonprofit organization governed by a volunteer board of directors.

To learn more, visit topofwv.com.