Student juried show opens soon | Art from local schools fills all three floors at RAC

Student art is shown from Redwater schools.. The exhibit features art from several local schools and will open on May 16.  (Submitted photo)
Student art is shown from Redwater schools.. The exhibit features art from several local schools and will open on May 16. (Submitted photo)

TEXARKANA, Texas - With a bit of creativity and COVID-19 restrictions easing, the 28th annual Juried Student Exhibition will soon make a triumphant return to fill all three floors of the Regional Arts Center.

The exhibit showcases the artistic vision and aptitude of youth from several area school districts. An opening reception will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 16, the day the exhibit opens. It runs through June 26.

In all, 14 schools entered 449 works with 162 of them selected for the exhibit.

Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council Visual Arts Assistant Amanda Langley says even this year with COVID-19 stress she was impressed with the amount of art that teachers and families were able to submit.

"This year we had private school, homeschool, public school, Arkansas side and Texas side, so we were still able to represent the region, which was great," Langley said. "I would definitely like to recognize that it was a really difficult year this year for all teachers, especially art teachers."

Teaching art is tough if students are quarantined or chose to stay home this year and instruction's done virtually, she said.

"I was very honored that they chose to enter this year when some of them didn't even have art shows at their school this year," Langley said.

With the art, portraits were again popular. As well, smaller works were plentiful, which Langley believes is a attributable to working at home and the amount of time students had to work on their art.

"It was really interesting to see that they weren't able to go as big as they usually do with a lot of them," she said. However, a few works are large. They're group projects, necessitating that students come together to work.

"We were heavy on sculpture this year. You'll see a lot more three-dimensional things than usual," Langley said.

Because of COVID, this year TRAHC chose to do online judging for the first time for the first phase of the exhibition, meaning it was complete blind judging on the part of the juror.

This year's juror was Neal K. Harrington, professor of art at Arkansas Tech University, who said from elementary school to high school the entries were both thought-provoking and entertaining.

"My decision-making process was not focused on comparing works," he wrote in his juror's statement. "Instead I chose pieces that interested me and/or caught my attention. The process of selecting works that contained such a broad spectrum of concepts, subject matter, and media was overwhelming, so I fell back on my artistic experience and training to react with my gut instinct."

He wrote that as an art professor, he teaches students to use design principles and the elements of art. They are the building blocks the artists use to "construct the finished product successfully to create visual interest."

Harrington encourages young artists not selected this year to persist with their art, to not be discouraged, noting that there are times when his work hasn't been accepted for shows or won awards but that he's inspired to work harder and keep enjoying the process.

"Making art is an innate experience and is a natural process. It took me a long time to be aware of these important fundamentals to enhance and improve my artwork," Harrington said in his statement.

Langley's impressed with the amount of art he chose to include. The reception will include light refreshments and a chance for people to vote on a People's Choice Award. Mask wearing is encouraged but optional at the reception.

The RAC hosted a small version of the exhibit in the basement gallery last year. But this year brings the full show back to the Regional Arts Center.

"It's been a while since we've had student art. It's great to have that," Langley said about filling the gallery space with student work, adding, "It's a special thing."

When she was a teacher, she said, she appreciated having non-biased judging from somebody outside of the school and that it was hung by someone who's hung professional shows and professionally curated by someone trained to do so.

(Admission is free. Hours are noon to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. The Regional Arts Center is located at 321 W. 4th St. More info: Email TRAHC.org or call 903-792-8681.)

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