BROWNSVILLE — Student artists and their families filled the Brownsville Museum of Fine Art on Saturday during the 48th Annual International Student Art Show.
About 150 young artists from pre-kindergarten through high school submitted pieces for the show, Interim Director Deyanira Ramirez said. It’s part of the museum’s mission to involve the community in art, she added.
“This is nice for us to bring new faces, new artists into the museum, as well as their parents and teachers,” she said. “I think it’s really good for them to hang their art in the exhibit … and to see other people see their art.”
Ramirez said some students sell their art during the show, and one of her favorite parts of the event is watching students’ reaction to learning their piece has been purchased.
Judges also award first place, second place, third place, honorable mention and best in show for the six age categories. One student is selected to receive the Mayor’s Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in the arts.
Camila Reyes, 11, took home second place in the middle school black and white category for her piece entitled “Moving Parts.”
“I was really nervous about it,” said Camila, who didn’t know her teacher entered her drawing into the competition until Thursday.
Her black and white drawing combined butterflies and a dragonfly with geometric shapes. She drew inspiration from her daily life for each pattern on the insects, like a checkerboard butterfly sparked from the board game she plays with her siblings.
Juan Manuel Reyes, Camila’s dad, said he was proud of his daughter but not surprised. She already has a collection of awards at home.
District 2 Commissioner Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa presented 10-year-old Madeline Medina with the Mayor’s Award for the girl’s sculpture entitled “Belle’s Grand Opening Extravaganza.”
“It’s very exciting,” Madeline, a Gonzalez Elementary student, said. Her piece is a theme park scene that features a Ferris wheel and twinkle lights. She said it was inspired by Disney and the film “The Greatest Showman.”
It’s the second sculpture she’s made, Madeline said, and she also enjoys creating paintings and collages.
“I’m very proud. I started crying,” Ashley Turrubiates, Madeline’s mom, said of learning her daughter was selected for the Mayor’s Award. “She’s been working very hard at it.”
The 48th Annual International Student Art Show will be up through March 9.
