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(Photos by Aaron McElfish)

The opened March 31 at the university’s McComas Hall Art Gallery.

Free to all, the ground-floor exhibition through April 8 features 79 works selected from nearly 350 fine art, graphic design and photography creations submitted for consideration.

A public reception for the exhibitors was held from 5-6 p.m. on March 31, where the following awards were presented:

Fine Art Juror Awards

• Best in Show – Haylee Upton, “Hive”
• Honorable Mention – Catherine Ranager, “Crowd Pleaser”
• Honorable Mention – Kenan Simpkins, “Hymnal Chapel”
• Honorable Mention – Katye Drew, “Lisa: For the Forest”

Photography Juror Awards

• Best in Show – Haleigh Parker, “Ironing Board”
• Honorable Mention – Ronnie Robinson, “Play Nice, Deary: Portrait Series”
• Honorable Mention – Samantha Sumrall, “Self Portrait”
• Honorable Mention – Chaka Watkins, “Strangers”

Graphic Design Juror Awards

• Best in Show – Jordan Hankinson, “DNP 2015: APS Division of Nuclear Physics”
• Honorable Mention – Kelli Clayton, “WWF Illegal Wildlife Trade 2”
• Honorable Mention – Daniel Jackson, “Dog Gone It”
• Honorable Mention – Phillip Bajoras, “Alabama Shakes”

Sponsor Awards

1. Starkville Area Arts Council Fine Art Award – Niki Johnson, “Land of Cerberus”
2. RGH Artists’ Paint Award – Shaquita Woodson, “Glacier”
3. Mount Vision Pastel Award – Randi Watson, “Self Portrait One”

CAAD Dean’s Purchase Prizes

• Jillian Wilson, “The Five”
• Jordan Hankinson, “DNP 2015: APS Division of Nuclear Physics”
• Kenan Simpkins, “Jackson + Starkville”

Recent Awards and Scholarships of Special Recognition

Donovan Dodd Award for Excellence in Ceramic Art
Jillian Wilson

2016 Ferretti/Karnstedt Endowed Scholarship in Photography
Kenan Simpkins

Katie Erikson

Samantha Sumrall

2016 Grahame Brook Snider Endowed Travel Photography Award
Anna Katherine “Katie” Erickson

2016 M. Ashley Duboise Endowed Photography Scholarship
Kamau Bostic

Samantha Sumrall

Penland Higher Education Partners Program Award
Jillian Wilson

Rome Travel Award
Anna Katherine “Katie” Erickson

Lorianna Livingston

Samantha “Sami” McDougall

Katherine “Kaylie” Mitchell

Aubrey Pohl

Randi Watson

MSU Student Scholarship from Anderson Ranch in Snowmass Colorado
Sara Beard

Darby Taylor

2016 Undergraduate MSU-Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge Artist in Residence
Kara VonKanel

Guests at the exhibit were asked to vote for their favorite piece, and the People’s Choice Award went to Shaquita Woodson for “Glacier.”

Department of Art student Jordan Knight designed the Best in Show, Honorable Mention and People’s Choice Awards for this year’s juried exhibit. Knight is a junior in the Department of Art and a gallery assistant for the MSU Department of Art Galleries.

Special Thanks to Lori Neuenfeldt, coordinator of the MSU Art Department’s gallery and outreach programs, and all of who made this event possible:

CAAD Dean Jim West                       Department of Art faculty

Matthew Gordon                               Jacqueline Posley

Jordan Knight                                    Brennan Byrne

Katie Trapp                                         Ashley Brewer

Nicole Jackson                                   Christina Vanderberg

Fine art, graphic design and photography judges for this semester’s exhibition were, respectively, Ryan Cobourn, a New York painter, designer and photographer; James Louis Walker, a multidisciplinary graphic designer and educator in Texas; and Laura Larson, an Ohio-based photographer.

Click here to see the awards show program.

Special gallery hours for the exhibition in McComas Hall are 1-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, as well as by appointment.

For additional information, contact Lori Neuenfeldt at 662-325-2973 or LNeuenfeldt@caad.msstate.edu.