The Annual High School Art Exhibition was held Jan. 18 through Jan 27 in the Fine Arts Building Gallery.

The Department of Visual and Theater Arts hold this event each year for local high school students. This year 9 area high school’s participated in the 3 major categories; Painting/ Mixed Media, Drawing/Printmaking/Photography, and 3-D/Sculpture. The total of 155 students presented over 70 works of art to be judged for cash prizes in each category as well as a best of show.

The one hundred dollar prize that was award for the Best of Show went to Sam Richards, a McNairy Count High School student, for his piece entitled Eat at Sam’s.

Other awards went to Chrissy Jones, Gibson Co. H.S., in Painting/Mixed Media, Stephen Powell, Dyersburg H.S., int the Drawing/Printmaking/Photography category, and Charles Stephens, Dyer County H.S., for 3-D/Scultpture. The awards were announced and presented during the College Art Day luncheon on Jan. 21.

This art show offered not only the chance to display the students’ creations, but also an opportunity for them to attend seminars and workshops. The workshops were offered in a variety of forms to appeal to the different young artists in attendance. Art forms such as clay art and drawing seem to have a great appeal for the students to let their creativity take over.

Numerous other exhibits will take place in the Fine Arts Gallery this semester including works by UTM students in the graphic design department. These exhibits will begin on February 15 and will continue until April with different artists exhibiting.