Hastings College hosted more than 130 students from 22 high schools across Nebraska for the Department of Visual Art’s mural competition at the Jackson Dinsdale Art Center on Wednesday, September 20.
The “mash up” competition required each team to draw a word from three different baskets and then design and paint a four foot by eight foot mural using subjects they drew. For example, the winning team from Kearney High School drew chicken nuggets, cowboys and badminton — and then had two hours to brainstorm, sketch out and paint a mural featuring those subjects.
The competition was judged by Hastings College senior art majors Hannah Goss, Caleb Merritt and Jenna Kulwick .
Kearney High School claimed first prize, receiving a piece of glass art created by Hastings College professor of art Tom Kreager, as well as the opportunity to hold an art exhibition in the Jackson Dinsdale Art Center gallery. Grand Island Senior High came in second, and Overton High School came in third. Both received a custom glass art piece from Kreager. Pictures of the winning schools can be found below.
All schools were allowed to keep their finished mural to hang in their high school.
Several high school seniors who attended the mural competition also submitted portfolios for scholarship consideration. Portfolios were reviewed by faculty, and Hastings College scholarships from the Department of Visual Arts were awarded to 21 students, shown below.
- Gibbon High School — Sara Iveth Romero, Samantha Mercer, Maliyah Rivera
- Gothenburg High School — Senyase Baca, Helena Jorgenson
- Grand Island Northwest High School — Aleah Johnson
- Hastings High School — Phoebe Manandik
- Lawrence/Nelson High School — Morgan Menke, Hayden Epley, Bailey Cox
- Lincoln North Star High School — Taylor Kvittem, Isabelle Engel, Emily Espinoza, Deanna Allen, Davyd Kokhanets, Christian Beyer
- Omaha Burke High School — Soleil Ramsey, Hunter Silvey, Darby Carlin, Carlos Aguilar-Ramirez
- Sandy Creek High School — Kenzie Turman
Hastings College is a private, four-year institution located in Hastings, Nebraska, that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. With more than 60 majors and 15 pre-professional programs, Hastings College has been named among “Great Schools, Great Prices” by U.S. News & World Report and a “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review. For more, go to hastings.edu.
