2018 High School Area Show and Congressional Art Competition

Now in it’s 36th year, the High School Area Show opened Thursday, May 17, at the reception and awards ceremony.

Seven college and university programs, and the KIA’s Kirk Newman Art School, offered nearly $1,000,000 in scholarships and awards to selected students based on their work. New to the exhibition this is year was the Mayor’s Prize. Kalamazoo Mayor Bobby Hopewell chose eight works that will be on view at Kalamazoo City Hall for three months after the High School Area Show closes.

As before, the KIA partnered with the 6th Congressional District Congressional Art Competition to select a representative whose work will hang in the U.S. Capitol for a year. Ranya Liu, of Portage Central High School, won that honor for her watercolor Butterfly and Flower. Ms. Liu will also receive a trip to Washington, DC.

Juror for the show was Karina Galvan Moore, Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management at the University of Michigan’s Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design, who noted the difficulty of choosing 100 works from so many submissions.

“I want to congratulate all students who made the effort to submit their work–KEEP MAKING!,” she said. “I was thrilled to see the wide range of media explored, and the strength of the works, and in the end, I chose works that demonstrated curiosity and experimentation of media, ideas, and techniques, taking into consideration risk-taking, technical skill, and aesthetics.”

Curating the show was Curator of Education Michelle Stempien, who notes the importance of the high school educators who nurture these young artists.

“We have to send a big thank you to the art and design teachers for their commitment to their students. We know that this exhibition is a continuing success because of those whose robust art programs teach the skills and dedication needed to study and practice art-making.”

The exhibition is sponsored by AVB and Borgess/Ascension, and continues through June 10.