On Fri., May 15, Stay Gallery hosted the Stay Young Festival of the Arts, for the second year in a row, to exhibit artwork such as paintings, drawings, sculptures, and photography from students enrolled at Downey and Warren High School.

Junior Cintia Macias was one of the photography students who submitted her work to Stay Gallery. Macias explained that she had just began testing her photography skills over the summer and stated that being able to submit her work for an exhibit was a great opportunity.

“It was really cool seeing my photograph being displayed for everyone,” Macias said. “It was a picture I took at a show that I went to not too long ago.”

Senior Alex Landin was one of the many students in attendance. Landin did not submit anything to the gallery, but he was there as moral support for his peers who had.

“Stay Gallery always has fun events that involve kids my age,” Landin said. “My friend from Warren performed and I really liked the fact that rival schools set aside their differences to enjoy each other’s creative ventures.”

Not only did Stay Gallery exhibit physical pieces of art composed by students, like Landin mentioned, they allowed students to perform throughout the exhibits opening day. Performances included poetry readings, musical entertainment, and a screening of a student directed short film.

Junior Alexandria Lopez was one of the first performers scheduled to showcase her musical abilities by singing and playing the guitar and piano for the people in attendance.

“It was a different experience performing in front of a group of people from performing alone at home,” Lopez said. “Seeing the smiling faces in the crowd while I was playing and getting compliments afterward gave me a feeling of accomplishment.”

Junior Fernando Mandujano submitted two of his photographs for the exhibit that he had taken while working for the Downey High School Yearbook staff during the Girls Swim season. Mandujano placed second in the photography section.

“I was pretty stoked to find out that I won second place,” Mandujano said. “Next year I plan on going for first place.”

At the end of the exhibit’s opening day, Stay Gallery honored three students from each category placing them in either first, second, or third place and awarding the first place winners a monetary prize. Downey High students placed in every single category and swept the photography section. The Stay Young Festival of the Arts will be open to the public until May 20, 2015 featuring 150 different artworks composed by local high school students.