Southeast Missouri State University student publication

Crisp Museum hosts 43rd Annual High School Art Exhibition

Thursday, April 1, 2021
Sculpture created by Mattison Bowyer, Saxony High School senior student.
Photo by Dakayla Duckworth

High school students in grades 11 and 12 from throughout the region had the opportunity to submit their artwork to Crisp Museum at Southeast’s River Campus.

The exhibit, titled “Exhibiting Excellence,” showcased art pieces from local high school students and ran through March 28.

Sabrina Henson, Scott City High School senior student, says she enjoyed the exhibit, as art is something she enjoys doing in her free time.

“This exhibit meant a lot,” Henson said. “I believe art makes the world a better place, and I really enjoyed seeing the different art pieces presented from different schools.”

This year, each teacher at local high schools was allowed to submit a total of 15 artwork entries by their students. Art teachers were contacted when their students' artwork was accepted for display.

According to the flyer of the exhibition, accepted artworks were hand-delivered or mailed to Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum at Southeast’s River Campus.

Louise Bodenheimer, Southeast professor head of graphic design and illustration, was the juror for this year’s exhibition. Bodenheimer is the designer of the “Musical Heritage Mural” on the Shivelbines Music Store building in downtown Cape Girardeau.

In the past years, the exhibit has included an awards ceremony; however, due to Covid-19, the ceremony was hosted online at semo.edu/museum beginning Feb. 28 through March 28. The award ceremony presented first, second and third place awards beginning Feb. 28 to the young artists in the categories of ceramics, drawing, painting, printmaking, sculptures, fibers, mixed media, photography, digital art and graphic design.

The exhibited awards are eligible for a “Best of Show Award,” which consists of giving students the opportunity to receive a $1,000 Southeast scholarship if they pursue an art major at Southeast.

After touring the exhibit, Scott City High School art teacher Richard Conaway said he encourages young artists to keep pursuing their passion.

“Keep producing artwork with meaning, strive for excellence, always do your best, and you will accomplish many things,” Conaway said.

Museum manager Jim Phillips says the exhibit was a fun way for students to be creative and show families the possibilities of success outside the go-to-college standard post-high-school-graduation plan.

“It’s really a fun show — it’s fun for the kids to do their work, and it’s fun for the families to sorta see what’s possible outside of the standard go-to-college model or getting a job,” Phillips said.

For more information on this high school art exhibition, visit semo.edu/museum.

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