Students today, future artists tomorrow

_{Brownsville attendees look at art created by Brownsville Independent School District high schoolers March 7 during the 46th Annual Secondary Art Contest and Faculty Exhibit at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art. Estefania Ramirez/THE RIDER}

The Brownsville Independent School District Department of Fine Arts presented its 46th Annual Secondary Contest and Faculty Exhibit on March 7 at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art. The exhibit showcases student and faculty art work.

 BISD Director of Fine Arts Michael Garcia said the support for students in art and events such as this one is more important than ever because it allows students to express themselves. 

“There’s still some lingering effects from [COVID-19] that a lot of the students went through, having to be at home and not being able to be amongst their peers, that I think that things like this are very, very important,” Garcia said.

He said middle and high school students being able to showcase their work and learning how an art gallery works is important for their future careers in art.

“I think that’s really an eye opener for them because they create the work in the classroom and for them to be able to then see it displayed like if they were a professional artist, I think that’s something that’s a great learning experience for them,” Garcia said.

He said UTRGV visual arts students serve as judges for this year’s contest with categories ranging from black and white drawing, color drawing, painting, sculpture and more.

Garcia encourages the community to “give the kids some affirmation that their hard work and their dedication towards the arts is appreciated.” 

Participating schools are Hanna, Lopez, Pace, Porter, Rivera and Veterans early college high schools as well as Stillman, Manzano, Stell, Vela, Oliveira, Faulk, Perkins, Garcia, Besteiro and Lucio middle schools and more than 20 BISD art faculty participating in the exhibition.

_{Fatima Lai, a Rivera Early College High School visual arts instructor, says she is proud of her student Itzel for winning third place in the drawing contest March 7 at the 46th Annual Secondary Art Contest and Faculty Exhibit at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art. Estefania Ramirez/THE RIDER}

John Clark, Besteiro Middle School visual arts teacher, said one of his students started their first-place award winning art piece as a doodle, which turned into something “magnificent.”

“She does really good work,” Clark said. “All of them do really good work. They do some amazing things.” 

He said the hard part of getting students to showcase their work was to get them over their fear.

 Fatima Lai, a visual arts teacher at Rivera Early College High School, showcased one of her abstract oil on paper art pieces titled “The Pain We Leave Behind,” which conveys the feeling of grief. 

“Sometimes, we can’t even explain that feeling and we feel like all of this turmoil is going through our heads,” Lai said. “It is kind of going through the motions of what you are truly feeling when you go through grief.” 

Jesus, a University Interscholastic League Visual Arts Scholastic Event medal holder and Rivera ECHS student, showcased his award-winning art piece titled “Flourish,” a self-portrait created with the relief medium. The art piece won third place in the acrylic contest.

“I’ve seen him, just like his title, ‘Flourish’ so much in his work,” Lai said. “He is portraying himself, and how he feels and how he is growing as an artist.”

Deyanira Ramirez, executive director of the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, said it is always a joy to have young people in the museum because young people are the future of the art world.

“There is not much to do, but to ask the community to give young people support just as the museum has been doing,” she said in Spanish.

The exhibit will continue through Friday.