51st Annual High School Student Art Competition Award Winners: 

Best of Show:

Kaitlyn Spence, Pursuit, Monroe City R-1 High School

Second Place:

Kayden Warner, Newspaper Boat, Fort Madison High School

Third Place:

Logan Foxall, Large River Birch Bowl, Highland High School

Robert Lee Mejer Visual Arts Award for Creativity:

Emma Bowen, Patch, Hannibal High School

Merit Awards (2): 

Kaitlyn Spence, Baby Steps, Monroe City R-1 High School

Jackson Day, Needle Knight Leda, Fort Madison High School

Honorable Mention (3):

Molly Springer , Holiday Road, Pittsfield High School

Kendalyn Ruxlow, Nature’s Calling…, Quincy Senior High School

Jalaya Ries, On Deck, Logan Private

Great River Watercolor Society Awards (2):

Tyren Maxwell, Winter, Mark Twain High School

Kenneth Motley, Avoidance, Pittsfield High School

Special Recognition Awards (3): 

Iris Arevalo, Blooming, Fort Madison High School

Amber Carmean, Lipstick on a Pig, Quincy Senior High School

Felicia Ralph, Just A Silly Goose, Fort Madison High School

High School Teacher Award: 

Amanda Strudwick, St. Cecilia, Quincy Notre Dame

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About this Exhibit:

Calling all High School artists! The Art Center will host it’s 51st Annual High School Student Art Competition from February 1 – 28, 2024! This exhibition is designed to educate high school artists on how to professionally enter and display artwork for a juried competition. Along with works from our area high schoolers, the Art Center will also be displaying works from the student’s art teachers in their 8th Annual High School Art Teacher Exhibit.

Open to high schoolers, grades 9th – 12th, students may enter up to 3 works for $12. 

Artwork drop-off at The Art Center is:
December 18, 19, 20, 21, 11am – 6pm
January 8,9,10,11, 11am – 6pm
and January 15, 16, 17, 18,  11am – 6pm.

Note, this is a juried competition, not all entered artworks will be selected for display. 

Judge: Dr. Patricia Belleville, Professor of Art Education retired after a full career from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois. She was the creator and Director of the online graduate program in Art Education, Coordinator of the annual Media & Methods Conference, Jr High Workshops, Sr High Workshops and many other activities. She is an Illinois Art Education Association Distinguished Member and worked with the National Council for History Educators.

Teen Takeover and Awards Ceremony: Saturday, Feb. 1, 1– 3pm, with competition awards announced at 2:30pm. Area university art & design departments will have information booths. Select universities will award scholarships and prizes. Art Center will also give away participation prizes.

This competition is open to students who live in or attend high school in the following counties:

Adams County, IL | Marion County, MO | Audrain County, MO |

McDonough County, IL | Brown County, IL | Monroe County, MO

Cass County, IL | Morgan County, IL | Clark County, MO | Pike County, IL

Greene County, IL | Pike County, MO | Hancock County, IL | Ralls County, MO

Knox County, MO | Schuyler County, IL | Lee County, IA | Scott County, IL

Lewis County, MO | Shelby County, MO

NOTE: We do not accept artificial intelligence-generated art (AI-ART) for the competition. Our competition is dedicated to showcasing and celebrating human creativity and artistic expression. We encourage artists to submit their original, human-created artworks that reflect their individual perspectives and creative journeys, allowing us to appreciate the depth and diversity of human artistic talent.