The 2019 edition of the Arkansas Arts Center’s Young Arkansas Artists exhibition is now open.

In 1961, the Arkansas Arts Center hosted the first statewide Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition to ensure learning, inspiration, and creative expression. Now in its 58th year, the annual Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition showcases artwork by Arkansas students to celebrate the artistic talent and achievement of Arkansas students.

An annual crowd-pleaser, Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition features works by Arkansas students – from kindergarten through 12th grade – in a wide range of mediums and techniques.

“The Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition fosters arts appreciation throughout the state,” said Rana Edgar, Arkansas Arts Center Director of Education and Programs. “By providing a platform to celebrate creative expression, the Arkansas Arts Center reinforces the important role art plays in every classroom and every community.”

This year, 500 works in a variety of media were entered by 145 public and private school educators, homeschool educators and private art instructors from all corners of the state. Following submission, a panel of art professionals selected the top works from each grade to be exhibited at the Arkansas Arts Center. The panel selected 79 works for the exhibition, representing 47 schools across the state. From those works, one Best in Class and two Honorable Mention awards will be chosen for each grade by a grand juror. The juror will also select 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 will also select one Teacher’s Choice award from each grade level.