Nearly 300 middle and high school students and their parents from 24 Alabama counties will participate in the fifth annual Trojan Art Day at Troy University on Friday, Feb. 23.

Trojan Art Day offers workshops and demonstrations led by students and faculty in the University’s Department of Art and Design, preceding the District II Visual Arts Achievement Program awards ceremony, the conclusion to an art competition sponsored by the Alabama State Council on the Arts. Trojan Art Day and VAAP are partially funded by a grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

“The faculty and staff of the Department of Art and Design are excited to be preparing for another great day of celebrating the power of the arts and the importance of creative thinking and problem solving,” said Larry Percy, professor of art and design. “The students we host are the future ‘culture shapers,’ and we want to engage these young creatives in the positive and diverse Trojan family atmosphere we try to foster here at Troy University.”

Trojan Art Day activities will get under way at 9 a.m. and conclude with the VAAP Awards ceremony at 1 p.m.

The VAAP Competition Exhibition opened Monday in Malone Gallery, and works will remain on display through Friday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m.

District II includes schools from Autauga, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Chambers, Clay, Coffee, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Dale, Dallas, Elmore, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Montgomery, Pike, Russell, Randolph and Tallapoosa Counties.