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Young artists from McLean-area schools will move into the spotlight in March as two exhibitions fill the McLean Project for the Arts gallery with student work.

The annual shows celebrate Youth Art Month and feature pieces created by elementary, middle and high school students in the McLean and Langley high school pyramids.

Students from the McLean High School pyramid will be featured first, with their exhibition running from March 4 through March 16. An opening reception is scheduled for March 6 from 4:30 to 6 p.m.

The Langley High School pyramid exhibition will follow from March 19 through March 26. Its opening reception will take place March 20 from 4:30 to 6 p.m.

Both exhibitions are open to all supporters of the arts. Local real estate agents Lizzy Conroy, principal of HBC Group Keller Williams, and Marianne Prendergast, founder of The Prendergast Team, are sponsoring the initiative.

The gallery is inside the McLean Community Center at 1234 Ingleside Avenue. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. During the student exhibitions, it will also open from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays March 9, 16 and 23.

Youth Art Month began in 1961 as an initiative of the Art & Creative Materials Institute, an international association of art supply manufacturers. The nationwide campaign is now organized by the Council for Art Education, a nonprofit established by the institute in 1984.

The McLean Project for the Arts, which provides educational programs and presents regular exhibitions, is also raising money for a new arts center at The Signet condominiums in downtown McLean.

Plans for the 6,000-square-foot facility include additional galleries, educational areas, a ceramics studio, administrative offices and a cafe with an outdoor terrace.

The organization estimates the project will cost $7.2 million, including $5 million to build out the space. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a $500,000 contribution last year.