Kids who excel in art often don't get trophies or the kind of recognition that students who succeed in areas such as sports might. But an upcoming art exhibit is giving young artists the chance to display their work in a professional gallery.

The 58th Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition is on display April 30-June 30 at the Arkansas Arts Center. Students in kindergarten-12th grade submitted 500 pieces and a jury of art professionals selected 79 works for display. 

From those works, one Best in Class and two Honorable Mention awards will be chosen for each grade by a grand juror. The juror will also select recipients of the Mid-Southern Watercolorists Award for Achievement in Watercolor and Ray Smenner Award for Achievement in Painting. Members of the Arkansas Art Educators Association will also select one Teacher’s Choice award from each grade level.

The exhibition will open with a family festival and awards ceremony in celebration of the 58th Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition on Saturday, May 11. Activities for children of all ages will be offered from 10–11:30 a.m. in the Alice Pratt Brown Atrium, and awards will be presented at 11:30 a.m. in the Lower Lobby Lecture Hall.

For more information, visit the Arkansas Art Center's website or call 501-372-4000.