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Students art showcased virtually at SCAC

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High School Juried Art Show winners

High School Juried Art Show winners

High School Juried Art Show winners

High School Juried Art Show winners

The 2020 Statewide High School Juried Art show scheduled to be held at the Shelby County Arts Center in Columbiana on April 19 became a virtual exhibit instead, thanks to COVID-19.

Executive Director Bruce Andrews said it was disappointing they couldn’t hold the event at the arts center, but was also a great learning experience at the same time. He and his small team were able to compose a virtual tour of the exhibit and share it on their social media channels. 

“We had the time to do it and do it right,” Andrews said. “Another positive takeaway is that probably more people will see this exhibit than have seen it the past nine years. Usually the high point would be the awards ceremony. With 80 artists having three to four fans or family members, it’s never a question about attendance. But really, probably thousands of people will see it and be interested in it that would not have seen it before. It’s a good thing for Columbiana and the gallery.”

Andrews said the way it all came together was miraculous. The call for artists went out in January with a deadline of the last week of February. 

“All of the art was juried and received in house before March. When the edict came down on March 13, we already had everything in house ready to do the exhibit,” he said. “A big thanks to my staff. To pull it off was a large scale operation, and I’m really proud of everybody for pitching in together.” 

Students in grades 10-12 (ages 15-18), whether homeschooled, or in public or private schools, were eligible to submit up to two entries. Out of over 300 works of art submitted, only 86 were juried in to be selected to be displayed. The five categories included painting, drawing, photography, 3-D Design and mixed media.

Students were awarded for the best of each category, overall best of show and special Executive Director's Choice and Staff Choice awards. This show was judged by University of Montevallo professor Joseph Bennett and UAB professor Melissa L. Yes.

Two Hoover High School students won top honors and two Briarwood Christian students received honorable mention awards, making the top 7 in the competition. 

Best of Show: Boys' Toys. Ethan Martin, Hoover High School

Best in Photography: Favourite. Deebaj Fatima, Hoover High School

Best in Drawing: Dual Amaranth.  Madison L'hoste, Alabama School of Fine Arts

Best in Mixed-Media: Cover. Ella Yatabe, Alabama School of Fine Arts

Best in Painting: The Fools. Catherine Smith, Alabama School of Fine Arts

Best in 3-D. Medieval City. Joseph Lunsford, Crossroads Christian School

Honorable Mention Executive Director's Award: Dragon's Castle. Heather Houston, Briarwood Christian High School

Honorable Mention Staff Choice: See the Light. Gracie Wong, Briarwood Christian High School

Other Briarwood students in the show included:

Other Hoover students in the show included:

Two students from Indian Springs School also made it into the show: Jiaying Liu and Nicol Mai, both for drawing.

Winners received cash prizes and the opportunity for their work to be seen by college and university faculty. 

To see the virtual tour of the exhibit, visit the Shelby County Arts council website at https://shelbycountyartscouncil.com or their YouTube channel. 

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