MEDIA CONTACT:

Vanessa Ormsby, RCA Communications Manager

(361) 729-5519 / vanessa@rockportartcenter.com

RISING EYES OF TEXAS EXHIBIT TO FEATURE COLLEGIATE ARTISTS FROM ACROSS TEXAS

Students vie for share of $2,000 in prize money; juror Sara Morgan to select Best of Show

 

ROCKPORT, Texas (Feb. 13, 2025) — Rising Eyes of Texas, a yearly collegiate juried exhibition showcasing paintings, sculptures, video art, prints, and more by select Texas undergraduate and graduate visual arts students, returns to Rockport Center for the Arts (RCA) March 7–April 20.

Hosted annually since 2007, this year’s show features the work of 33 artists from 13 universities and colleges across Texas, including The University of Texas, Texas A&M University, Texas State University, and the University of North Texas. The exhibition will be held in the McKelvey Charitable Fund Gallery and is free and open to the public.

“Across disciplines, students from all over Texas are pushing boundaries in their practices—demonstrating remarkable technical skill in traditional media while simultaneously embracing interdisciplinary approaches that merge materials in unexpected and compelling ways,” said Catey Arnold, the Barrow Foundation curator of exhibitions for Rockport Center for the Arts. “It has been an honor to review these pieces, and I’m thrilled to share this year’s exhibition as a testament to the talent and innovation emerging from collegiate art programs throughout the state.”

The jurying committee surveyed 157 submissions, reviewing over 350 individual artworks. This exhibition will include sculpture (mixed-media, textiles, wearable sculpture, blown glass, kiln formed glass, ceramics, metal), painting (oil, spray paint, acrylic), printmaking (lithography, serigraphy, mezzotint, dry point etching), drawing (charcoal, graphite, colored pencil, white charcoal), mixed-media works and more.

Juror Sara Morgan, director of the Art Museum of South Texas, will select the top three Best of Show to share in the $2,000 purse supplied by the Christopher and Jessica Giesey Rising Eyes of Texas Scholarship Fund. The show also includes two additional awards: The “Barrow Foundation Curator of Exhibitions Award,” a $500 prize recognizing the artwork and artist statement, selected by Rockport Center for the Arts; and the “Giesey Award,” also a $500 cash prize, awarded by the Giesey family for creativity, originality, and artistic merit.

A public reception with the participating art students, their faculty, and Morgan will be held at RCA on Saturday, March 8, from 5–7 p.m., which coincides with the monthly Austin Street Art Walk a free, alfresco, walkable art experience featuring RCA and other galleries located in downtown Rockport.

Event benefactors Jean and Charles Giesey are long-time patrons of the arts and donors to Rockport Center for the Arts, including the scholarship fund which provides Rising Eyes of Texas prize money and assists students with submission fees to provide opportunities to all, regardless of means. A member of the RCA board of directors for six years (2014–2019), Jean served as board chair in 2017, leading a 100-day recovery campaign to successfully restore operations after the RCA facility was destroyed that year by Hurricane Harvey.

Morgan joins a list of esteemed jurors for past events including Tracy Saucier, director, Beeville Art Museum (2024); Tanja Peterson, author and gallery director, Redbud Arts Center (2023); Joseph Cohen, artist, and founder of Davis Cohen Fine Art (2022); Rigoberto Luna, co-owner Presa House (2021); Rebecca Gomez, independent curator, former curator Mexic-arte Museum (2020); Hollis Hammonds, professor of art, St. Edwards University (2019); and Rainey Knudson, founder of Glasstire (2018).

Rockport Center for the Arts is located at 204 S. Austin Street. Hours of operation are Tuesday–Saturday 10 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sunday, noon–4 p.m. Admission is free. Visit rockportartcenter.com, follow RCA on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519 for more information.

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Complete list of 2025 participating artists and their universities below.

 

About Rockport Center for the Arts

The new 1.2-acre Rockport Center for the Arts, the Coastal Bend’s first multidisciplinary arts organization, is located a block from Aransas Bay in the heart of the Rockport Cultural Arts District. Designed by the award-winning team at Richter Architects, the state-of-the-art campus features a two-story, 14,000-square-foot, visual arts and education building with four galleries and five classrooms (204 S. Austin St.); The Rockport Conference Center, a one-story, 8,000-square-foot conference and event center, known as The ROCC, (106 S. Austin St.); with a 16,000-square-foot Sculpture Garden serving as a visually inspiring transition space between the two buildings. The hours of operation for the showroom, galleries, and gift shop are Tuesday–Saturday from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sunday from noon–4 p.m. Admission is always free. For event space information or to book an event, call (361) 450-8033. For general information and to become a member, visit rockportartcenter.com, follow RCA on Facebook, or call (361) 729-5519.

 

About Austin Street Art Walk

Austin Street Art Walk is a collective effort of the Rockport Center for the Arts and Moon Over Water Gallery in partnership with Rockport galleries, restaurants, and businesses located along Austin Street in the Rockport Cultural Arts District. Scheduled the second Saturday of each month from 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Art Walk is a free, alfresco, walkable art experience featuring an ever-changing mix of participants and art mediums such as paintings, ceramics, jewelry, photography, textiles, as well as live music, artist demonstrations, food and more. Follow us on Facebook for more information.

 

RISING EYES OF TEXAS 2025 ARTISTS

Austin Community College

Elizabeth Drake

Houston Christian University

Laura Cano

Dominic Clay

Hailey Harvey

Chloe Hudspeth

Constintine St. John

Julia Wood

Delaney Yohe

Houston Community College

Luis Bracero

Don Mims

San Jacinto Community College

Joseph  Fuentes

Stephen F. Austin State University

Sean Clark

Frank Stinson

Texas A&M University

Sydney Lemmon

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Mariana Ruvaculba Cruz

Katelyn Girouard

JinSun   Kim

Caleb Terry

 Texas State University

Blanca   Luna

Trinity University

Jaida Johnson

Frederic Marmolejo

Rory McCarthy

The University of Texas at Arlington

Aubrey Barnett

Audrey Hatter

Isabella Posca

Emma Valazuela

Anastasia Zyuskina

The University of Texas at Austin

Rosie Ganske

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Patricia Garces

Ashe Gomez

Noah Melendez

University of North Texas

Abigail   Holden

Emily Holder