Polk Museum of Art Announces First Virtual Student Exhibition

Lakeland, FL (April 9, 2020) – The Polk Museum of Art is excited to announce its first online student exhibition, Our Finest: Polk County High School Fine Art Competition

Originally scheduled to open in the Museum’s George Jenkins Gallery, the Museum has launched this exhibition virtually to celebrate and recognize the talent of Polk County high school students. 

“Due to the circumstances, we knew we had to adapt to celebrate these students and their hard work,” states Ellen Chastain, Education Manager at the Museum. “So we created our very first online student exhibition to bring the celebration right into the homes of our community.”

With the cooperative planning efforts of the Polk County Board of County Commissioners in partnership with the Polk Arts Alliance, Polk County Schools, and the Polk Museum of Art, this countywide juried competition for Polk County high school students was open to all public, private, and homeschool students in the county. The competition brought in over 300 submissions from students all over the county. 

“During jurying, it was exciting for us because there was so much great art to select from. We had the entire gallery and lobby filled with tables of submissions,” states Megan Carpenter, Education Coordinator. Museum staff and jurors looked at each piece for elements and principles of art, overall skill, creativity, creative concept, and craftsmanship in order to select the works for the show. 

“We are passionate about supporting our young artists and love our student art exhibitions. We are proud to offer nine student art shows in our dedicated Student Gallery throughout the year, each year, but COVID-19 forced — and encouraged — us to change things up for the spring," said Dr. H. Alexander Rich, Executive Director and Chief Curator of the Museum. "While we are sad that the tremendous work of 'Our Finest' county students will not be able to be enjoyed in person, we are excited to seize this unusual opportunity to move to a fully and safely virtual experience for our dedicated visitors."

The Museum is excited to announce the award winners for Our Finest

Commissioners Award:

Elizabeth Summers

Entrapment

Ridge Community High School

 

First Place: 

Shaun Morgan

Primal Influence

Harrison School for the Arts

 

Second Place: 

Alison McNeely

Tea for Two with a Frog

Kathleen High School

 

Third Place: 

Grace Knox

Degraded

Harrison School for the Arts

 

Merit: 

Emma Galbraith

Identity

Lakeland Christian School

 

Merit: 

Kara Wilson

Tik Tokz

Lake Region High School

 

Merit: 

Brianna Wunsch

Gone

Lakeland Senior High School

 

Merit: 

Jiayun “Lucy” Zhang

Night Blooming in Grandma's Yard

All Saints Academy

 

Polk County Schools Purchase Award: 
Kaiser Louis
Bessie
Harrison School for the Arts

Polk Museum of Art Purchase Award: 
Ben Wilson
Funding
Harrison School for the Arts

Our Finest will be available for virtual viewing on the Polk Museum of Art’s website at https://polkmuseumofart.org/our-finest-2020. Corporate underwriting for the exhibition is provided by Joy and Michael Martin. Thank you to our Student Gallery Sponsors: Southern Homes, MidFlorida Credit Union, and Publix Super Markets Charities. 

For any additional questions or information, please reach out to the Museum’s Education Manager, Ellen Chastain, at echastain@polkmusuemofart.org or at 863-688-7743 ex. 227 or Taylor Holycross at tholycross@polkmuseumofart.org or 863-688-7743 ex. 249.