17th Annual Middle Tennessee Regional Student Art Exhibition Returns

Regional students submitted almost 800 works in a range of artistic media;
Watkins School of Art at Belmont offers scholarships to top winners

The Parthenon, Centennial Park Conservancy, Metro Nashville Parks & Recreation, and Tennessee Art Education Association announced today that the 17th annual Middle Tennessee Regional Student Art Exhibition will return to the Parthenon this winter. 

Selected works in Ceramics, Computer Graphics, Drawing, Mixed Media, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, and Video will be on display in Metro Parks’ Parthenon from January 23 to March 1. An opening reception and awards ceremony honoring the selected artists will take place on January 23 at the Parthenon from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., with winners in each category announced throughout the evening. 

The 188 winners were selected from close to 800 works submitted by students in grades 6-12 from Middle Tennessee public and private schools and home-schooled students. A panel of judges from Watkins School of Art at Belmont University evaluated the submissions in a blind process, selecting First, Second and Third Place winners and Honorable Mentions for every grade level in each artistic category. Overall winners were chosen as well, in the categories of Best of Show, Best of High School, Best of Middle School, Best of Ceramics, Best of Computer Graphics, Best of Drawing, Best of Mixed Media, Best of Painting, Best of Photography, Best of Printmaking, Best of Sculpture, and Best of Video. All works were judged based on criteria including originality, technical skill and emergence of a personal vision or voice.  

This year the Watkins School of Art at Belmont University is offering scholarships to the sophomores, juniors and seniors who win the “best of” award in each category, as well as to the “Best of High School” winner.

The judging panel included: Benjy Davies, Associate Dean of the Watkins School of Art at Belmont University; Brandon Williams, Assistant Professor of Printmaking at Watkins; and Lane Carnell, Community Education Coordinator at Watkins.

“The caliber of work submitted by these Middle Tennessee student artists is remarkable,” said Davies. “All of the young people who submitted work for consideration should be very proud of themselves — the panel had our work cut out for us choosing winners! We look forward to welcoming these talented students to Watkins over the next few years.”

This is the 17th year the Tennessee Art Education Association has held the regional competition and exhibition, and the third year it has been hosted at the Parthenon.  

“It is so important to us at The Parthenon and Centennial Park Conservancy to encourage and inspire young artists, and we are thrilled that Belmont University is joining us in this crucial work,” says Parthenon Curator Jennifer Richardson. “Belmont’s generous scholarship offers will help ensure that these talented young artists are supported materially as well as artistically. We are so pleased to see Belmont supporting the young artists of Middle Tennessee.” 

“There were 778 entries this year for the judges to review, before selecting the 187 winners,” Richardson added. “We appreciate the teachers and parents who put in so much time and effort to nurture the artists and submit their applications. The award-winning artwork will be displayed on Level 2 with the Athena statue. I love that this exhibit draws in so many families, and the timing works perfectly with our STEAM Expeditions, which bring approximately 2,000 sixth-grade students from 17 MNPS schools to The Parthenon.”

In addition to being displayed as part of the Parthenon exhibition this winter, the Best Of winners will also be displayed in the Best of the Best Statewide Exhibition, which will be held July 13-18 at Middle Tennessee State University.  

The Artists Reception will be held at The Parthenon from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on January 23. Admission is free, and guests may RSVP via Eventbrite. For more information on the exhibit, visit https://www.nashvilleparthenon.com/events/mtrsae-exhibition. 

Exhibitions and educational programming at the Parthenon are underwritten by the Centennial Park Conservancy and its generous partners, including: Amazon, Advance Financial Foundation, Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Dettwiller Foundation, HCA Healthcare Foundation, Jackson National Life Insurance Company, Old Town Trolley, Pinnacle Financial Partners, Sandra Schatten Foundation, The Memorial Foundation, and the Tennessee Arts Commission. Subject matter of Parthenon exhibitions does not necessarily represent the opinion of partners or sponsors. For more information, please visit conservancyonline.com.