Freeport Art Museum (FAM) hosts the Visual Arts Scholarship Exhibit to showcase the most recent visual arts recipients of the Buss and Ferguson Fine Arts Merit scholarships. The exhibit will unveil during the Friday, May 3 reception from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Freeport Art Museum, 121 N. Harlem Ave., Freeport, Ill. The exhibit will remain on display through July 27.
Highland students included in this exhibit, Hayden Hayes, Hailie Lenz, Dulce Lopez, Madison Pitts, and Shelby Rathje, showcase a sampling of some of their most successful works of art created during their studies in the visual arts program at Highland. Two scholarships are offered to full-time Fine Arts students. Students receiving an award in either of these two distinguished scholarship programs must meet specific criteria in the study of music, theater, or visual arts.
“Their work serves as visual examples of their explorations answering academic concerns unique to specific studies,” said Robert Apolloni, Instructor of Visual Art at Highland. “To be included in this scholarship exhibit, however, works must go beyond simply meeting required academic standards. They must arrive at a unique, poignant, and many times, personal level of rest or completion. Each of these works of art has a history concerning their progress and development reaching that completion. The relationship each artist/student has with that experience of creation encompasses a myriad of personal and professional growth.”
After analytical and intuitive discussions, each student settled on their final selections for the exhibit and began preparing those pieces for viewing. For many students, choosing, preparing, and titling a work of art, along with documentation, such as an artist’s statement, is a facet of working as an artist they may not have previously experienced. This exhibit provides them with insight concerning exhibiting.
Scholarship opportunities are provided to the students through the Highland Community College Foundation. Freeport Art Museum is providing the venue for this exhibit. The museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and Noon to 5 p.m. Saturday.