RICHARDSON ISD STUDENTS RECOGNIZED AS TOP 10 EMERGING ARTISTS

Cottonwood Art Festival recognizes Richardson students as the top 10 visual artists for the 2024 Emerging Artist Program. The following RISD students were selected to participate:

Berkner High School
Ricardo Flores

J. J. Pearce High School
Kate Dawson
Luisa Lara
Olivia Ober
Elia Villasenor

Lake Highlands High School
Sophia Hufstedler
Max Young

Richardson High School
Rachel Cadena
Erin Glasscock
Ayianna Wooten

The Emerging Artist Program is open to Richardson ISD students in grades 10-12. Applicants submit five samples of their artwork, a brief artist statement or bio and explanation of their interest in art. A jury of professionals in the art industry review entries and 10 students are selected to participate.

“Art has become my way of expressing the complexity of human life, and I dream of using my talent for direction in creative projects,” said J. J. Pearce’s Luisa Lara. “I want the job of creativity to guide my future endeavors.”

Neighborhood Credit Union sponsors the Emerging Artist Program that exhibits their artwork during April at the Charles W. Eisemann Center in the Virginia Green Mezzanine-Gallery. Artists additionally have the opportunity to win placement awards and scholarships including $750 for Best of Show, $500 for 2nd Place, $300 for 3rd Place and $200 for Honorable Mention.

“We are extremely grateful to have a wonderful partnership with Neighborhood Credit Union. The Emerging Artist Program would not be possible without the support and donation of their scholarship prize money,” said Dianna Lawrence, Superintendent of Community Events. “Their support also gives the students the opportunity to exhibit and sell their work at the festival. For some of the artists selling off their prize possession is a hard thing to imagine but then they make their first sale and realize the value of their work. By the end of the festival many of the artists won’t have any artwork left.”

The People’s Choice Award is open for voting by the public and ends at noon on April 16.

“I declared that I wanted to be an artist when I was 8 years old and have never wavered in that dream since”, said Richardson High School’s Erin Glasscock. “I love to create pieces of people and places that connect with me, have impacted my life, tell a story, and capture a moment in time.”

The selected artwork by Emerging Artists will be showcased from April 1-30 at the Virginia Green Mezzanine Gallery, situated within the Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts at 2351 Performance Drive in Richardson. Admission is free and open to the public during regular business hours. Additionally, students will have booths at the Cottonwood Art Festival, presenting their complete collection of artworks for purchase.

The Cottonwood Art Festival takes place the first full weekend of the months of May and October, at Cottonwood Park, located at 1321 W. Belt Line Rd. in Richardson, Texas. This year, the festival will be open on Saturday, May 4, from 10 a.m.-7 p.m., and on Sunday, May 5, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is free.

The festival additionally includes live entertainment on the Imagery Courtyard Stage and Acoustic Stage, a craft beer garden, food trucks, ArtStop stations with activities for kids of all ages and more than 190 artist booths with artwork from around the world.

The following RISD students were selected to participate in the 2024 program.

People’s Choice Award

Click here for additional information on the Emerging Artist Program or email elizabeth.wood@cor.gov

The first Friday of every month from 6-8 pm, the Charles W. Eisemann Center hosts a reception to celebrate the newest exhibition displayed in the Green-Mezzanine Gallery located on the second floor of the lobby. This month features the artists from the Cottonwood Art Festival Emerging Artist Program. This event is free and open to the public! Light bites will be provided as you view the artwork in fellowship with other locals who appreciate visual arts.