The Valdosta State University Department of Art and Design will present its 21^st annual Juried Student Art Competition March 25 through April 12 in the Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery. Admission is free of charge and open to the public.

A campus-wide invitation to participate in the 2019 Juried Student Art Competition was issued earlier this year to all currently enrolled VSU students. Regardless of their major area of study, students were encouraged to share their artistic talents by submitting a maximum of four two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional works, including graphic design, illustration (digital and traditional), interior design (presentation boards, illustrations, models, and so on), computer animation, drawing, printmaking (lithography, etching, silkscreen, relief, collographs, etc.), painting, aqueous media, jewelry, photography (digital and darkroom), ceramics, small metals, sculpture, and mixed media.

Julie Bowland, Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery director and professor of art, said that 77 students submitted 225 different works of art for the competition and exhibition. 

Holly Ann Scoggins, the 2019 Juried Student Art Competition juror and a professor of art at Polk State College in Florida, reviewed the submissions and selected 53 individual works from 36 students to be featured in the exhibition and to compete for various prizes — first place, second place, third place, fourth place, one of five Maker Art Supply Merit Awards, and a $500 Harley Langdale Jr. College of Business Administration Student Art Acquisition Award.

The winners will be announced during an opening reception from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, March 18, in the Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery.

“The participating student artists exhibit a wonderful range of diverse media, styles, and artistic outlooks in this annual showcase of emerging talent,” Bowland said. “Interior design, graphic illustration, photography, drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, and mixed media are all included in this exciting multi-media exhibition. This is one of the most eagerly awaited exhibitions, as any and all VSU students are eligible to compete and show their art.”

The Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery is located on the first floor of the VSU Fine Arts Building, at the intersection of Brookwood Drive and Oak Street. It is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday.