First place winner Lucy Guo with Director Rod Parker (left) and Juror Scott Andresen (right)

The LSU School of Art hosted the second annual statewide juried exhibition for high school artists, at the LSU Foster Gallery March 4–31, 2016. Winners were announced at a reception held at the gallery on Saturday, March 19. All public, private, and home-schooled high school students residing in Louisiana qualified for submission.

“We had a fantastic turnout with approximately 200 people in attendance,” said Kitty Pheney, director of new initiatives at the LSU School of Art.

“LSU and the art program gain exposure throughout the state by hosting the competition and exhibition on campus each year, and the event is a great recruiting opportunity for the school,” said Rod Parker, director of the LSU School of Art. For example, several of the winners are accepted applicants and may choose to attend LSU this fall.

Awards were presented by juror Scott Andresen, assistant professor of foundations at the LSU School of Art.

First place, $500, was awarded to Lucy Guo, a senior at Baton Rouge Magnet High School, for Trapped, colored pencil and watercolor. Lucy also received honorable mention, $100, for Crushed Addiciton, acrylic and watercolor. Lucy was accepted to LSU as a mechanical engineering major.

Second place, $300, went to Zoe Beaman, also a senior at Baton Rouge Magnet High School, for Ethan, acrylic on canvas. Zoe was accepted to LSU as an art major.

Third place, $200, was awarded to Mollie Probst, a senior at Northlake Christian High School in Mandaville, Louisiana, for Thoughts, mixed media. Mollie was accepted to LSU as a psychology major.

Four other honorable mentions—$100 each—were awarded to:

• Katie Judice, a senior at St. Thomas Moore Catholic High School in Lafayette, for Remains of the Day, an acrylic and ink collage;
• Catherine Zhou, a senior at Baton Rouge Magnet High School, for Dreams and Machines, ballpoint pen on paper;
• Adam Miller, a junior at Dunham High School in Baton Rouge, for Broken, oil on canvas; and
• Nicholas Schutte, a junior at Episcopal School of Acadiana in Broussard, Louisiana, for his silver gelatin photograph Sinking.

Katie was accepted to LSU as a pre-architecture major, and Catherine was accepted to LSU as a computer science major.

Special recognition went to Baton Rouge Magnet High School for best overall showing, with a special thanks to Baton Rouge High teachers Heather Berrios and April Hammock.

“The exhibition, which started last year, is the School of Art’s first major outreach initiative to develop relationships with high schools throughout the state,” said Pheney. “It’s a win-win. We reach prospective students and students and teachers are thrilled by the professional nature of the exhibition.”