MSU students showcase artistic excellence at 2020 Mississippi Collegiate Arts Competition

Drawing of a pear in a vase, apples in a bowl and a green plant in a blue glass bottle
"Blue Glass," a drawing by MSU sophomore art/graphic design major Emily R. Harms of Madison, is among 77 MSU student entries selected for the 2020 Mississippi Collegiate Arts Competition. (Submitted photo/by Emily Harms)

Contact: Anna Owens

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State’s commitment to an exceptional visual arts education is evident in the recent 2020 Mississippi Collegiate Arts Competition, where 77 entries by MSU students were selected.

In its 70th year, the MCAC is a statewide competition open to art students at four-year public and private colleges and universities. Submissions represent a variety of artistic disciplines and were created within the contest timeline of the past year.

Bryce Lafferty, associate professor of drawing and painting at Jacksonville State University, served as juror for the prestigious event hosted by Mississippi University for Women. Lafferty selected 188 out of 799 student-produced works of art, to be featured in an exhibition at MUW Galleries from Feb. 12 to March 13. An awards reception will take place Feb. 22 from 2-4 p.m.

Competition categories included ceramics, graphic design, photography, mixed media and metal arts, among others.

MSU’s 2020 MCAC exhibitors include (by hometown):

BAY MINETTE, Alabama—Bobbye E. Jackson, a senior art major.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama—Emily A. Purner, a senior interior design major.

BOGUE CHITTO—Emily R. Goss, a junior art major who received a Juror's Excellence Award for "Home."

BROOKHAVEN—Aarron D. Lunn, a senior art/fine arts major who received the Ceramic Arts Media Category Award for "Stone Vase."

BROWN DEER, Wisconsin—Hailey P. Farrington-Bentil, a junior art/photography major.

BYHALIA—Jasmine I. Riddle, a 2019 art/photography bachelor’s graduate.

CANTON—Elaina G. Hart, a junior art/fine arts major.

CLINTON—Collins A. Davis, a senior art major; and Chante M. Paige, a junior art/graphic design major.

COLUMBUS—Catherine A. Bennett, a senior art/graphic design major.

DALLAS, Texas—Hanna R. Bewley, a junior art/drawing major.

DEKALB—MyKiya T. Oliver, a senior art/graphic design major.

ENTERPRISE—Kenzie R. Johnston, a senior art/fine arts major.

FLORENCE—Meghan A. Norman, a senior art/graphic design major.

FOREST—Tatiana B. Flores, a senior art/graphic design major.

GREENWOOD—Anna Claire Garrard, a senior art/graphic design major.

HOLLY SPRINGS—Allyson L. Parker, a senior art/photography major.               

IUKA—Demore Henley, a senior art/graphic design major.

JACKSON—Shuntia D. Battle, a junior art major.

LONG BEACH—Hannah N. Hancock, a senior interior design major.       

MADISON—Emily R. Harms, a sophomore art/graphic design major who received the Drawing Media Category Award for "Blue Glass."

MEMPHIS, Tennessee—Victoria L. Jackson, a senior art/graphic design major.

MERIDIAN—Carolyn N. Locke, a senior art/graphic design major.

MUSCLE SHOALS, Alabama—Erin B. Thompson, a junior art/graphic design major.

OLIVE BRANCH— Demarques T. “Ques” Nevels and Neelly Plunk, both senior art/graphic design majors; and Sarah G. Steen, a senior art/drawing major.

PHILADELPHIA—Morgan L. Hollis, a senior art/graphic design major.    

RICHLAND—Mecca S. Givens, a senior art/fine arts major.

SALTILLO—Savannah M. Alley, a senior art/graphic design major.

SOUTHAVEN—Alexandria K. Johnson, a senior art/photography major.  

SMITHVILLE—Susan M. Marshall, a senior art/graphic design major.

STARKVILLE—Marika A. Dunne, a senior art/drawing major; Lindsey Anne Harper, a senior art/graphic design major who received the Graphic Design Media Category Award for "Nature as Design"; Anthony S. Lowe, a senior art/fine arts major; Ana S. Licona Luque, a sophomore art/graphic design major; Angella M. Osinde, a senior art/graphic design major; and Mary Kathryn Sanders, a junior art major.

TUPELO—Aiden Schrock, a sophomore art major.

VICKSBURG—Amelia G. Dalton, a senior art/graphic design major.

WINONA—Virginia L. Dance, a senior interior design major.

MSU’s College of Architecture, Art and Design offers a variety of undergraduate majors and classes in a studio environment. For more about the college and its Department of Art, visit www.caad.msstate.edu.

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