The seventh annual Have a HeART for Art competition and exhibition will be at 5:30 p.m. March 6 in Emergent Arts, 341 Whittington Ave. Works will be on display through March 15. The event is free and open to the public.
All Garland County schools were welcome to participate in the competition. Teachers were provided with heart health educational materials to share with students, while leading them in an art project using a heart motif.
This year, more than 6,000 students in all grades heard a heart-healthy message to inspire original art, and teachers submitted two entries from each grade to represent their school at the competition.
To enhance the classroom experience, a DVD of previous events was produced this year by the Lakeside Technology Class under the direction of Chris Slaton.
The 2015 event saw a record number of entries, growing to 190 works from 136 submitted in 2014. These came from Lake Hamilton, Lakeside, Cutter Morning Star, Jessieville, Fountain Lake, Hot Springs, St. John's Catholic School, St. Luke's Day School, Hot Springs Community School and Garland County home-school students.
For the competition, art is judged on creativity in using a heart motif. Prizes will be awarded in eight divisions, including the new Special HeARTS Division, created for special education students. Judges participating this year will be artists, gallery owners, teachers and business leaders.
Categories and prizes are as follows: $150 for overall grand prize; $100 for first, $50 for second and two honorable mentions for the divisions of kindergarten through third grade, fourth through sixth grades, seventh through ninth grades, and 10th through 12th grades; the Special HeARTS winner will receive $100 and honorable mentions will be named; People's Choice, $50; and a Teachers Division prize of $100.
Simmons Bank and the Bartlett Family continue as sponsors of the art program, created in memory of Michelle Lee Bartlett. She was a 1998 graduate of Lakeside High School and student at University of Arkansas School of Law when she died in 2003 at the age of 23 from an undetected heart condition.
Her mother, Nancy Bartlett, said in a news release, "Michelle's friends, teachers and family have continued to support this program year after year. Without their support, this program could never have developed and grown to the size it is today.
"We continue to promote prevention of heart disease through education. The lasting impact of hearing a heart health lesson while creating your own heart 'masterpiece' is impossible to measure. The willingness of art teachers to include this message in their classroom year after year has been crucial. We appreciate them greatly."
Collaborating partners include Erin Holiday with Emergent Arts, Tiffany Hough with Garland County Library, and Lakeside High School art students, with leadership of Jo Hornbeck.
Volunteer Chairwoman Mary Hamner Latham has been leading her team of helpers, including Ashley Campbell, Courtney Eubanks, Brenda Barnett, Monica Shults, Nancy Bartlett, Tracy Keaton and Jodi Kiernan.
Additional assistance has been given by Lori Arnold, Brenda Barnett, Serethia Crawford, Jo Hornbeck, Tracy Keaton, Vicki Kovaleski, Melissa Bartlett Marshall, Adam Mitchell, Alison Parsons, Sarah Riley, Bess Sanders, Terri Seller and Steve Trusty.
Entertainment on 02/27/2015