BATAVIA – One hundred contest-winning photographs by Kane County high school art students will be on display in an exhibition from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Batavia Fine Arts Centre, 1250 W. Wilson St., Batavia.

The exhibition is free and open to the public.

The Kane County Regional Office of Education hosted the 10-week contest which began in September with different themes for each, spokesman Wyatt Murphy said.

The top 10 student photographs for each week’s theme will be featured.

The themes were nature, architecture, still life, perspective, texture, use of light, portraits, holiday, photo manipulation and artist’s choice, Murphy said.

The office received 180 entries each week of the contest, with the office’s former spokeswoman Molly McQueeny judging, Regional Superintendent Patricia Dal Santo said. McQueeny has a graphics art background which qualified her to judge, Dal Santo said.

“We started it (the contest) a few years ago in an effort to recognize kids’ photography,” Dal Santo said. “It’s grown every year.”

Now the competition has been expanded to include private high schools, she said.

“Last year we did it virtually for the pandemic. We are very glad to be able to do an in-person one, though modified this year,” Dal Santo said, as those who attend are asked to wear masks. “And we served refreshments in past. We’re not going to this year.”

First-place students’ photos will be printed on canvas, and the other nine for each theme will be printed on photo paper and matted for them to take home, Dal Santo said.

The office keeps a framed copy of each photo and rotates a display of them throughout the year, she said.