Young Arkansas Artists highlights the remarkable talent, creativity and perspective of Arkansas students.

Each year, art teachers and instructors throughout Arkansas submit their students’ work, and a panel of art professionals selects works to be included in the exhibition. The Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition showcases artwork from kindergarten through high school in a wide range of mediums and techniques – from crayon and pastel to collage and sculpture.

Last year, the panel received 273 works submitted by 41 different schools in 24 cities across the state. The panel of art professionals selected 65 works – five per grade – for show in the exhibition. Guest juror Courtney Bradford, M.A., the Curator of Collections at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, selected a Best in Class and two Honorable Mention awards for each grade. Bradford also selected the 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 also selected one Teacher’s Choice award from each grade. Each winning artist’s school receives a monetary award to support its art program funded by Arkansas Children’s Hospital.