This special exhibition showcases works by high school student artists from across Pima County.
While we get to interact with youth visitors on field trips, in community programs, or with their families, we do not always get to see the results of their personal artistic pursuits and practices. We are thrilled to highlight the technical skill and creative thought that these young artists possess.
Some of the students addressed direct prompts from their studio teachers or used their artistic vocabulary to speak to social issues, while others gleaned inspiration from found materials, literature, or even video games.
Image: Sabina Cervantes Rangel, Untitled, Clay & Glass, Canyon Del Oro High School, Grade 12, Teacher: Carrie Bakken
These five artists were awarded the Outstanding Emerging High School Artist Award, making them eligible to receive a $1,000 scholarship to the University of Arizona School of Art for the 2019/2020 school year. (Eligible students must have been accepted to the University of Arizona for 2019/2020.)
Sabina Cervantes Rangel, Untitled, Clay & Glass
Canyon Del Oro High School, Grade 12
Teacher: Carrie Bakken
Ryan Hunt, Desert Beauty, Acrylic
Mountain View High School, Grade 12
Teacher: Robert P. Lindsay
Macy Cummings, My Eyes Are Up Here, Collage on Wood Panel
Canyon Del Oro High School, Grade 12
Teacher: Gina Beca
Caressa Wittwer, Alaskan Boatride, Watercolor
Cholla High School, Grade 12
Teacher: Sarah Ukiah Hoy
Ava Celeste Lattanzio, Ava’s Chair, Digital Print
Sabino High School, Grade 11
Teacher: Michael Speir
Congratulations to the following three artists selected by the jury to receive honorable mention!
Fernanda Silva Mendoza, Throwing Stars, Digital Photography
Tucson High School, Grade 12
Teacher: Alejandro Gonzalez
Rosalia Garcia, eugnoT, Prismacolor Pencils
Canyon Del Oro High School, Grade 12
Teacher: Gina Beca
Brandi Mary Medina, Everyone Is Touched, Post-it notes, Pencil, Thread, Canvas
Cholla High School, Grade 12
Teacher: Matt Wolf
This year’s awards for the High School Artists were juried by faculty from the UA’s School of Art and UAMA staff. Collectively this incredible group has diverse and extensive experience in teaching, creating and curating visual art.
Carlton Bradford, Associate Professor. Carlton teaches undergraduate and graduate classes with a specialty in metal and wood fabrication. Carlton has exhibited his work over his forty-year career in many solo and group exhibitions. Earlier in his career he worked as an assistant to several professional sculptors in various media (all aspects of foundry work, carving and fabricating wood sculpture, and large-scale metal fabrication and installation).
Colin Blakely, Director, School of Art. Colin Blakely currently serves as Director of the School of Art at the University of Arizona. Colin’s work has been shown at Fotofest Houston, the Society for Contemporary Photography, the Pingyao International Photography Festival, the Griffin Museum of Photography, the Photographic Center Northwest and the Jen Bekman Gallery.
Brook A Grucella, Curator, Professor of Practice. Brooke is a professor of practice and has curated the Joseph Gross and Lionel Rombach Galleries, School of Art, College of Fine Arts, University of Arizona since 2008. She teaches Gallery Management and a special topics course entitled, The Art of Subculture. She has exhibited in Los Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; Washington DC and Pulse Art Fair, New York.
Olivia Miller, Curator of Exhibitions, UAMA. Olivia Miller received her B.A. in Studio Art and Art History from the University of Arizona and her M.A. in Art History from the University of Oregon, with a focus on Spanish Baroque portraiture. In addition to curating a wide range of exhibitions, she also serves on the museum’s acquisitions and public art committees, co-leads the Science and Humanities Communication Fellowship Program, and is a board member of the Department of English’s Prison Education Project.
Karen Zimmermann, Professor, Assistant Director, School of Art. Karen Zimmermann is the Assistant Director of the School of Art and a professor in the ID: Graphic Design and Illustration Division at the University of Arizona. She teaches Typography, Information Graphics, Design, Culture and Language, and Letterpress & the Multiple. Karen has received numerous grants and awards for her design and art work including an Arizona Project Grant by the Arizona Commission of the Arts, UA Deans fund for Excellence, and UA Faculty Fellowship.
