Young Arkansas Artists

May 9 — August 2, 2020

The creativity of Arkansas students statewide will be on view in the Arkansas Arts Center’s Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition. This popular annual exhibition and associated events will move to a digital format during this ongoing time of social distancing.

Each year, art teachers and instructors throughout Arkansas submit their students’ work, and a panel of art professionals selects works to be included in the exhibition. The Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition showcases artwork from kindergarten through high school in a wide range of mediums and techniques – from crayon and pastel to collage and sculpture.

The exhibition is now part of the Arts Center’s new digital engagement initiative “Arkansas Arts Center Amplified’ through which the center is committed to bringing engaging art experiences where many people are now spending much of their time – online. The new digital format offers increased accessibility to the exhibition – both to families and students as well as educators as classroom instruction moves online for the foreseeable future.

This year, the panel selected 65 works from 478 entries. Guest juror Jonathan Wright, associate professor of art at the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, selected a Best in Class and two Honorable Mention awards for each grade. Wright also selected the recipients of the Mid-Southern Watercolorists Award for Achievement in Watercolor and Ray Smenner Award for Achievement in Painting. Members of the Arkansas Art Educators Association also selected one Teacher’s Choice award from each grade. Each winning artist’s school receives a monetary award to support its art program funded by Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

YOUNG ARKANSAS ARTISTS PROGRAMS

Young Arkansas Artists Virtual Awards Ceremony | Saturday, May 9 at 11 a.m.

TThe Arkansas Arts Center is proud to present an online version the long-standing Young Arkansas Artists program and exhibition. Artists of the 59th Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition and their families will gather – virtually – for an awards ceremony with remarks by Executive Director Victoria Ramirez and Guest Juror Jonathan Wright and awards presented by KATV’s Renee Shapiro.

Young Arkansas Artists Facebook Family Festival | Saturday, May 9 at 12 p.m.

Celebrate the talented young artists of the Natural State! Join us on the Arkansas Arts Center’s Facebook page to participate in at-home art activities for the whole family.

Featured Works from the 59th Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition

The 59th Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition Supported by

Awards supported by