Rising Eyes of Texas Exhibition in its Final Week
Arts+Culture

Rising Eyes of Texas Exhibition in its Final Week

Rising Eyes of Texas at the Rockport Center for the Arts is closing this weekend after celebrating graduate and undergraduate students in the visual arts this month

By Halli Castro|
A photo of a plaster sculpture of two hands in upward facing fists sitting on a gray backdrop.

Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi student Mariana Ruvalcaba Cruz's sculpture, "Keeping It Together."

The Rising Eyes of Texas exhibition is in its final week, after a month-long celebration of art by graduate and undergraduate students in the visual arts. This year’s event began on Mar. 3 and will wrap up this Sunday, Apr. 9, which means there’s still time to see what it’s all about! 

The exhibition is being held in the upper level of the McKelvey Charitable Fund Gallery of Rockport Center for the Arts (RCA) and is free to attend and open to the public. The juried exhibition is celebrating its 17th year at Rockport Center for the Arts and features the work of thirty artists from fifteen universities and colleges from all over Texas. The exhibition features work in multiple mediums, including paintings, sculptures, video art, prints and more. 

An art piece of colorful text, the words spell out "sorry am I too much for you to deal with" on an orange gradient background.
Sam Houston State University student Charlie King’s piece entitled “Too Much”

“The Rising Eyes of Texas show provides a window to the future of contemporary art in Texas and beyond,” said Elena Rodriguez, curator of exhibitions for Rockport Center for the Arts. “Many of our past exhibitors have gone on to enjoy successful art careers and we are proud to provide a venue for  them to  showcase their talents.”

When you attend, be sure to see which artworks were awarded prizes in the exhibition. The top three “best in show” selected by juror Tanja Peterson received a share of $1,500 supplied by the Christopher and Jessica Giesey Rising Eyes of Texas Scholarship Fund. 

Texas State University student Hannah Rodriquez’s piece entitled “Bath Time.”

For the first time in the show’s history, two new prizes have been presented, as well. The “Barrow Foundation Curator of Exhibitions Award” is a $500 prize awarded for quality of the artwork and artist statement, and is selected by the RCA. The second new addition is the “Giesey Award,” which is also a $500 cash prize, and was awarded by the Giesey family for artwork that exemplified creativity, originality, and artistic merit.

“The Giesey family believes in encouragement and opportunity—something I myself experienced walking through the doors of the Rockport Center for the Arts for the first time,” said Jean Giesey. “This scholarship was created to allow artists to further develop the art in their souls and to pursue their artistic careers, regardless of media or means.”

For more information about the event visit the Rockport Center for the Arts website or check them out on Facebook. 

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