It's a grueling and painful task for Barbara Dove to weed out art pieces for the annual Young Artists' Showcase, but it has to be done, she said.

"I can't hang 200 pieces," said Dove, executive director of Gallery 510.

And this year was particularly difficult with 436 entries - the most entries the competition has had in its 11-year history.

The 2009 Young Artists' Showcase is on display from Jan. 10 to 31 in the Anne Lloyd Gallery of Madden Arts Center, 125 N. Water St. The 11th annual showcase presented by Gallery 510 is an exhibition of artwork by fifth- through eighth-grade students.

The showcase includes 111 pieces - drawings, ceramics, paintings and mixed media.

It opens with an awards reception at 2 p.m. Jan. 10. Awards for fifth- and sixth-graders will be given out at 2 p.m., and seventh- and eighth-graders will be honored at 3 p.m.

With the help of guest judges, Dove looked at the creativity and craftsmanship of each piece when it came to choosing artwork for the show. And when the decisions became tougher, they also looked at composition, color, balance and other characteristics to continue narrowing down the number.

"I want it to look like they had some intent or were thinking about how it was going to look," Dove said of the children's work.

"It was hard to eliminate the pieces, because you don't want the students to give up," she said. "The whole purpose of this show is to encourage and nurture these children to do more."

The exhibit and reception are free.

Hours for the Anne Lloyd Gallery are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

For more information, call Gallery 510 at 422-1509.

AIRPORT/LIBRARY: Rae Nell Spencer's watercolors are on view through January in the main passenger terminal of the Decatur Airport.

Artwork by members of Macon County 4-H is on display through January on the second floor of the Decatur Public Library, as well as the library's entryway display windows.

Both exhibits are open during regular hours.

BICENTENNIAL ART CENTER: Artwork by Edgar County artists will be on exhibit from Jan. 16 to Feb. 13 at the Bicentennial Art Center, 132 S. Central Ave., Paris. An opening reception is from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 16, at the center. The reception and exhibit are free.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

For more information, call 466-8130 or visit www.parisartcenter.com.

GALLERY 510: Gallery 510's First Friday reception is postponed until Jan. 9 at the East Main Street gallery. Artwork by Mike Bryant will be featured at the reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., with an artist talk at 6:30 p.m.

The exhibit and reception are ree. Bryant's work will remain on display through January.

Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

For more information, call 422-1509, e-mail gallery510@sbcglobal.net or visit www.gallery510.org.

KRANNERT ART MUSEUM: Several art exhibits open Jan. 30 at the University of Illinois' Krannert Art Museum at Sixth Street and Peabody Drive, Champaign.

Wildlife photography by Jean Luc Mylayne is on display through April 5. "Polaroids and Portraits: A Photographic Legacy of Andy Warhol" and "Audubon at Illinois," which features work from the University Library's "Birds of America," will be on display until May 24. A new installation at the Rosann Gelvin Noel Gallery is also on display until May 24.

The exhibit, "WOW design," on display until May 31, highlights London-based Dutch designer Marloes ten Bhömer.

Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, call 333-1861 or visit www.kam.uiuc.edu.

MILLIKIN UNIVERSITY: The Millikin University Art Faculty Biennial Exhibit will be on display Jan. 12 to 30 in the Perkinson Gallery of Kirkland Fine Arts Center. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For more information, visit www.millikin.edu/Kirkland.

PARKLAND ART GALLERY: Indira Freitas Johnson's "Hand in Hand; Opposition and Unity" will be on display Jan. 12 to Feb. 12 in Parkland Art Gallery, Champaign. A reception will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, in the gallery lounge and will feature classical Odissi dancer Gulapudi Raman Kumari and a talk by the Chicago-based Johnson.

Her sculptures, prints and photography address issues of labor, domestic violence, nonviolence and health education.

The exhibit and reception are free.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, 6 to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and noon to 2 p.m. Saturday.

For more information, call 351-2485 or visit www.parkland.edu/gallery.

RICHLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Robyn Rognstad of Springfield, Mo., will have her mixed media drawings and collages on display at the David Erlanson Gallery at Richland Community Collegefrom Jan. 12 to Feb. 13.

A reception for Rognstad's "Relating to Fluorescense" exhibit will be 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Jan. 28 in the gallery.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For information on an artist's reception, call 875-7200, ext. 386.

ROCK SPRINGS NATURE CENTER: Local artist Tonya Greve will present a digital photography workshop at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 17, at Rock Springs Nature Center. Greve's photography will be on display during the workshop.

For more information, call 423-7708 or visit www.maconcountyconservation.org.

TARBLE ARTS CENTER: The 17th Biennial Drawing/Watercolor: Illinois exhibition is on display through Feb. 22 in the main galleries of Tarble Arts Center, Ninth Street and Cleveland Avenue, Charleston.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, call 581-2787 or visit www.eiu.edu/~tarble.

aspates@herald-review.com|421-6986