Nine University of the Ozarks students combined to have 16 pieces of artwork accepted into the River Valley Arts Center’s 2025 Collegiate Competition.
The exhibition was held in an alternate space in downtown Russellville, Ark., at The HeARTh Creator’s Collective. Ozarks alumna Jacqueline Jurcik, a 2013 graduate, is one of the administrators of this artist collective space.
Ozarks Senior Mirian Miralda won Best of Show with her painting, Land of Wonder (see photo below).
“I’m very proud to have won at the Collegiate Competition with Land of Wonder,” Miralda said. “This painting is one of the most personal pieces I’ve ever created, one that I truly poured my soul into. I started painting it in January and spent over 50 hours on it. It captures my deep love for the outdoors and the sense of awe I feel when surrounded by nature’s beauty reminding me of the Creator behind it. Having it recognized makes all the time and effort I put into it even more meaningful, especially as I prepare for my senior exhibition.”
Junior Kate Baptiste was awarded second place with her drawing, Smokey Joe, and senior Genesis Cruz Zamora was awarded third place with her mixed media piece, Do You Love Me? Senior Taichi Hara was awarded honorable mention with his photograph, Fall Holidays.
The other Ozarks students who took part in the event include, Elisabeth Hays, Alexandra Melgar, Taliana Schmidt, Cheyanne Davis, and Crystal Martinez.
Tammy Harrington, Windgate professor of art at U of O, said the annual competition is a “fantastic opportunity” for Ozarks students.
“It is a professional exhibition with their peer group and is evaluated by judges outside of the college environment,” Harrington said. “I am proud of the work of our students; it is diverse in both media and content. It is a great representation of the art program. Several of these students are seniors and this work is part of their thesis exhibitions.”
Harrington said it was also great to reconnect with Jurcik.
“As a theatre major, she took a class with me and I am glad to see that she is still involved with the arts in both a personal and administrative capacity,” Harrington said. “That is one of the goals that the art program strives to instill in our majors and minors, to continue with creative expression after graduating from Ozarks. Art is truly a lifelong activity and profession.”
“I appreciate the continued support of the Windgate Foundation. Throughout the years, the grants that we received from this organization helps to pay for the exhibition entry fees and for the framing materials. That gives all students that have taken art courses the opportunity to participate. Each student had a hand in preparing their artwork for exhibition. It is a bit of work on my end to teach the students about this process but it is an important part of being an artist.”
Topics: Art