WASHINGTON, D.C . - Pepco Edison Place Gallery presents "Courage on Canvas," a celebration of 17 years of remarkable artwork created by Life Pieces To Masterpieces' apprentices. The return of the month long exhibition opening Oct. 2 and running through Nov. 8 features 70 major paintings from the "Life Pieces" catalog of over 1,000 masterpieces. Wednesday's opening will feature an evening on the red carpet from 6 - 8:30 p.m.

Founded in 1996, Life Pieces To Masterpieces is an arts-based, year-round, comprehensive youth development and character education organization for African-American males. It teaches integrity, character development, and leadership skills. Life Pieces' art work is known for vivid symbolism and direct connection with the life stories of young men living in the District of Columbia's most economically disenfranchised communities.

The 2013 summer program, Connecting Communities Across the Globe, afforded the apprentices an opportunity to focus on the history, language and culture of China, Japan, and Ireland. Eight new masterpieces were completed around the global themes. The creation of Panda (2013) was inspired by apprentices working with visiting artists from China.

Most paintings in Life Pieces' catalog are available for purchase or lease through the Corporate Art by Life Pieces program.

For the last six years, 100 percent of Life Pieces' apprentices have graduated high-school and have gone onto post-secondary education, the work force, and/or the military.

The Pepco Edison Place Gallery is located at 702 Eighth Street, NW between G and H streets, one block west of the Verizon Center. For general information about Pepco and updates, visit www.pepco.com, www.facebook.com/@PepcoGallery and follow the Pepco Gallery at www.twitter.com/@PepcoGallery .