Contact: Sasha Steinberg

STARKVILLE, Miss.— Eleven students from Mississippi State’s Department of Art recently received top awards as part of the 45th Student Juried Exhibition at the university’s McComas Hall Art Gallery.

The spring exhibition featured 60 works selected from nearly 250 fine art, graphic design and photography creations submitted for consideration. Included in the exhibition were 44 works by MSU students accepted into the Mississippi Collegiate Arts Competition.

Best in Show and honorable mention prizes also were presented in the fine art, graphic design and photography categories.

Fine art, graphic design and photography judges for this semester’s exhibition were, respectively, Heather Hart, a professional artist in Brooklyn, New York; Ginger Owen, associate professor of photography and intermedia at Western Michigan University’s Gwen Frostic School of Art; and Meena Khalili, assistant professor of graphic design at the University of Louisville.

MSU’s 2017 Student Juried Exhibition award winners include (by category):

Fine Art

—Senior art/fine arts major Cecilia A. Lemus of New Albany, Best in Show for “LED Music Chair.”

—Junior art/fine arts major Phoebe L. Fitzgerald of Decatur, Alabama, Honorable Mention for “The Great Depression.”

—Senior art/fine arts major Jordan C. Knight of Brandon, Honorable Mention for “Black Beans.”

—Senior art/graphic design major Jennifer K. McFadden of Harvest, Alabama, Honorable Mention for “White Studio Wall.”

Graphic Design

—Senior art/graphic design major Catherine M. Ranager of New Albany, Best in Show for “Gold Eagle Brewing Co.”

—Senior art/graphic design and photography major Anna K. “Katie” Erickson of Madison, Honorable Mention for “Viaggo Roma: A City of Texture and Color.”

—Senior art/graphic design major Ian F. Green of Biloxi, Honorable Mention for “Santo Spirito in Sassia.”

—Senior art/graphic design major Heather C. Hardman of Birmingham, Alabama, Honorable Mention for “Spoked Summer Ale.”

Photography

—Senior art/photography and graphic design major Ronnie B. Robinson of West Point, Best in Show for “Play Nice, Deary: Portrait Series” and Honorable Mention for “Girl With Horns.”

—Senior art/photography major Robert W. Lewis of Mayhew, Honorable Mention for “Relaxing Hunter.”

—Senior art/fine arts major Randi L. Watson of Brandon, Honorable Mention for “This is Granna. She’s Forgotten My Name.”

Part of the College of Architecture, Art and Design, MSU’s Department of Art is home to the Magnolia State’s largest undergraduate studio art program. For more, visit www.caad.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.