Los Alamos All-Schools Student Art Show Opens Feb. 26 with Public Reception

Hundreds of artworks by Los Alamos Public Schools students from Pre-K through 12th grade will go on display when the 2026 All‑Schools Student Art Show opens Thursday, Feb. 26 at the Step Up Gallery on the upper level of Mesa Public Library, 2400 Central Ave. The Step Up Gallery news release says the public is invited to an opening reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the upper-level rotunda outside the gallery.

The exhibit will remain on view through March 24, and the gallery follows Mesa Public Library hours: Monday–Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Friday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Refreshments for the Feb. 26 reception are provided thanks to a donation from the Los Alamos Schools Credit Union.

District art-team members completed the hands-on work to prepare student pieces for display, collecting and labeling artworks, planning hang locations, choosing representative pieces and boxing works for transport to the Step Up Gallery. Gallery managers Katy Korkos and Diane Stoffel are named as the Step Up Gallery contacts who coordinated installation with Los Alamos Public Schools teachers and staff.

Veteran teacher Stephanie Spanier‑Rittner, identified in gallery materials as having taught art in the district for 33 years, framed the show as part of classroom outcomes: “Art education cultivates imagination, creativity, self- expression, problem solving and critical thinking,” Spanier‑Rittner said. “Art education helps develop fine motor skills and helps encourage social-emotional well‑being through creativity.”

A Step Up Gallery photo caption lists local teachers who helped bring work from classrooms to the gallery: “Front row from left, Jessie Ross, Mountain Elementary; Claire Stewart, LAMS; Stephanie Rittner, Pinon Elementary. Back row from left, Dottie Lopez, LAHS; Britt Williams, Aspen Elementary; Andrea Lynch, Chamisa Elementary; Mary Grace, LAHS and Elizabeth Fisher, LAMS. Not pictured, Libbi Lovejoy, LAHS. Courtesy/Step Up Gallery.”

The All‑Schools Student Art Show coincides with Student Art Month and New Mexico’s Year of Arts in Education, offering families and educators a concentrated opportunity to view student creativity across the district. Los Alamos Arts Council listings show additional local arts programming at Fuller Lodge Art Center that complements the school exhibit, including a youth studio for grades 1–6 on Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:00–6:00 p.m. for $35/day and an Art Studio: Teens open studio for grades 7–12 on Tuesdays and Thursdays 4:00–6:00 p.m. for $20/day.

The Step Up Gallery exhibition provides a public, accessible showcase of student work from Pre-K through high school seniors; with the opening reception Feb. 26 and the display running through March 24, the show gives parents, teachers and neighbors a chance to see the scale of student art across Los Alamos Public Schools this Student Art Month.