Competition is in the air, and the stakes are high.
Friday, more than 30 art majors will compete in the annual Undergraduate Student Art Awards.
The competition grants more than $24,000 each year in awards. Prizes are funded by a number of generous benefactors and are awarded either by faculty members or by a student-selected panel of external judges.
Art professor Beth Grabowski said the awards are substantial — usually no less than $400 each and an average of about $1,000 each.
“It’s a significant amount of change for the students who get these,” she said.
Not only does the competition allow students a chance at winning significant monetary awards, but it is also a valuable professional experience. For many of the students participating, the competition is the first time they have displayed their work for a jury.
Junior Linnea Lieth entered last year for the first time and said even though she didn't win, it was still a positive experience.
“I think it’s a really good thing because it allows all of the students in the Art Department to see what the other students are creating," she said. "I’m kind of inspired by that."
This year she entered one drawing, two photographs and a sculpture in the competition. Lieth said this competition is the best way to see a broad range of student-curated work. The majority of other exhibitions is organized by class and limited to what students created in that particular class.
