Blazing Originality

Sparked by a volunteer in 1963, it is the longest-running celebration of high school art in our region.

The Evansville Museum of Arts, Science & History presents its 60th Annual High School Art Show from March 16 to April 16. It features student art from 19 high schools in Gibson, Pike, Posey, Vanderburgh, and Warrick counties. Of 744 artworks submitted by 524 students this year, only about 125 will make it in.

This piece by Jyra Hendrix, a sophomore at William Henry Harrison Hight School, is called “Lost in Thought.”

โ€œCelebrating regional artists is an important part of what we do, both through this show and our annual Mid-States Exhibition,โ€ says Evansville Museum Executive Director Mary Bower.

The brainchild of Museum Guild member Shirley Wright, the show has touched thousands of young artistsโ€™ lives. Wrightโ€™s son Robert and his wife Marianna have sponsored the show since 2011 to honor her legacy.

Jon Siau was a North High School art teacher for 42 years. He has presented the Palmer and Lorene Siau Memorial Merit Award annually since 1992 in honor of his parents.

โ€œWe have dedicated art educators in our region, and we couldnโ€™t put on this show without them,โ€ Bower says. The teachers arrange and prepare submissions, fill out entry paperwork, and make sure the art gets to the museum and back.

โ€œThis happens outside their normal teaching duties to see that their students get this opportunity,โ€ Bower said.

Former Castle High School art teacher Anne Dowhie says her goal was to show students โ€œthey could do something they didnโ€™t think possible for them. Each student who gets in can be proud of accomplishing that.โ€

Mary Bower believes that participating in the show as students makes todayโ€™s art teachers more competitive.

“Parting the Seas” is a ceramics piece by Nola Oglesby, a junior at Castle High School in Newburgh, Indiana.

โ€œWhen I was a Castle freshman, my graphite drawing won first place,โ€ New Tech Institute art teacher and artist Brooke Wheeler said. โ€œThat gave me confidence. It motivated me to continue with art. Iโ€™m competitive. I want to get my studentsโ€™ pieces in the show so their work is recognized.โ€

โ€œWe exhibit their work in the same galleries we use for master artists,โ€ Evansville Museum Curator AJ Gianopoulos says. โ€œNot in a hallway like other museums.โ€

This yearโ€™s show is in the Old Gallery that just held the โ€œActive Stillnessโ€ exhibit.

โ€œWeโ€™re showing pieces by students who have something special to say and worked hard to achieve it,โ€ Gianopoulos says. โ€œYou really see the cream rise to the top.โ€

The quality of work across a range of media is remarkable.

Katie Waters, professor of art emerita at the University of Southern Indiana, is a good judge of that. She was the 2020 show juror and says, โ€œI am awed by the creativity and skills of the young artists of southwestern Indiana.โ€

Peg Faimon, Dean of Indiana Universityโ€™s Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design, is this yearโ€™s juror. She sought works that blaze with originality.

โ€œI look for art that surprises me,โ€ she says. โ€œThat strikes me in a way Iโ€™m not expecting. Whether the subject or just the way colors come together.”

The opening reception and awards presentation takes place at 7 p.m. March 16. Students will receive $5,000 in cash prizes thanks to generous donors.

โ€œOpening night is a highlight of our year,โ€ Bower says.

Previous article
Next article
Maggie Valenti
Maggie Valenti
Maggie Valenti joined Tucker Publishing Group in September 2022 as a staff writer. She graduated from Gettysburg College in 2020 with a bachelors degree in English. A Connecticut native, Maggie has ridden horses for 15 years and has hunt seat competition experience on the East Coast.

Related Articles

Latest Articles