Annual Upstate High School Art Exhibition General Information
Review the terms and conditions outlined below, by entering, the instructor and student artist understand and agree to the Department of Visual Arts’ policies.
All public and certified private high school art programs in the ten Upstate counties of South Carolina are eligible to enter their students’ artwork. Any high school student not enrolled in a public or certified private school (for example, home schooled) must contact the public high school that they are geographically assigned to and enter through that school’s program totally at the discretion of the art instructor or instructors.
Submissions will be accepted online January 27 – February 26, 2025. Online entry submission is required to provide detailed information to verify delivery of works and to create the exhibition catalog. Please make sure all information is correct when completing the online entry form. This completed entry form must also be attached to the back of each corresponding physical work in preparation for delivery.
Physical works must be delivered to a designated collection point, unless the instructor makes other arrangements with the Department of Visual Arts, by February 26, 2025. Make sure an entry form is attached to each work and that the works are wrapped or packed for travel. Please consolidate works into packages or boxes for ease of handling. Please label packages and boxes with school name and number of enclosed works.
2D work must be framed with hanging wire installed. Frames are not required for stretched canvas paintings, but wire is required. No acetate-covered artwork will be accepted. Poster frames and clip frames are not allowed. Because presentation is extremely important to the jurying process, worn or inappropriate frames are strongly discouraged. This is a professional exhibition. If necessary, please provide installation instructions and hardware for any 2D work. Only submissions that meet these installation requirements will be displayed in the Benson Campus Galleries.
All 3D work must sit securely on a pedestal or shelf or include appropriate hanging apparatus. If applicable, assembly and/or installation instructions are required.
There are no specific size restrictions for entries. If you think size or weight might be an issue, please contact us. Email Pat.Owens@gvltec.edu or fleming.markel@gvltec.edu with any concerns or questions regarding presentation or installation.
Artwork must remain on display at the GTC Benson Campus, 2522 Locust Hill Road, for the full duration of the exhibit.
Work must be picked up from original collection points on Thursday or Friday, April 24-25, 2025, unless the instructor makes other arrangements with the Department of Visual Arts.
The Department of Visual Arts reserves the right to select, copy, duplicate, or reproduce student work for promotional purposes. Work sold during the exhibition requires a 20% (of the sale price) donation to the Department of Visual Arts.
Works are not insured during travel or while on display. The Department of Visual Arts will take every precaution to protect artwork. Greenville Technical College is not responsible for insuring work and does not guarantee the safety of work during transportation or while on display.
Please provide photographs or electronic authoring files of ALL submitted work. This applies to work in any 2D or 3D category. If the piece is chosen for an award, these electronic files will assist in creating the exhibition catalog and awards presentation. Please label files with the school name, artist last name and first initial, and title of work (ex. Eastside_OwensP_Sublime.jpg) – the title can be truncated if too long. Images should be 300ppi high-resolution jpegs 10MB or less.
Animation and video entries should be in a standard, non-proprietary format, such as .mov, .mp4, or .m4v, and playable on any computer. Video entries should be 5 minutes or less and should not exceed 300MB.
All necessary support files should be included for any web design entry.
Files can be shared via email or Google Drive with Gallery Assistant Patrick Owens at Pat.Owens@gvltec.edu.
Programs employing 1 to 3 instructors may enter up to 9 works. It is suggested that an instructor teaching photography, drawing, and ceramics for example, should choose works that represent that diversity.
Programs employing 4 or more instructors may enter three works per instructor, not to exceed a total of 21 works.
ALL submitted works that meet the installation guidelines will be included in the exhibit. It is the responsibility of the instructors to jury their students’ work and to choose the best works to represent their programs.
Award winners will be selected by an independent juror. Individual award winners will be notified by email. Awards (up to a total of 3 places per category) are given at the discretion of the juror. All awards are cash awards with a 40/60 split. The award-winning student receives 40% of the cash award and that student’s high school visual art program receives 60% of the cash award. Award amounts are dependent on yearly corporate sponsors and grants.
The 35th AUHSAE juror is Jim Campbell, Upstate painter, printmaker, and musician. Jim retired more than a decade ago from the Greenville County Fine Arts Center, where he taught for 32 years. His works are included in the permanent collections of the Greenville County Museum of Art, the Morris Museum in Augusta, Georgia and many southeastern corporate and private collections. Jim holds a BFA from the University of Georgia. Currently living in Travelers Rest, he maintains his studio practice, plays bass with the Fine Art Ramblers, and repairs stringed instruments.
January 27 – February 26 Submissions accepted online
February 24 – February 26 Deliver physical work to collection points
March 24 Exhibition opens to the public, GTC Benson Campus
April 16 35th AUHSAE Awards Presentation, 6:30 pm
April 17 Exhibition closes
April 24-25 Pick up work from collection points
Awards may or may not be given in each of these categories at the discretion of the juror. DVA reserves the right to combine categories and to amend an individual work’s entry category.
2D Design & Color works may be projects or exercises emphasizing the principles and elements of design.
3D Design/Sculpture works may be modeled, carved, cast, constructed, or assembled.
Animation submissions should create the illusion of motion and three-dimensional space. Animated interface designs and timeline-based movies intended for publication on the Internet are also included in this category. Submissions should include all necessary support files. Flash files .swf are no longer supported.
Ceramics works may be hand-built or wheel-thrown, functional or sculptural.
Drawing works may be dry or wet media and can include mixed media.
Fiber works primarily use textiles, such as fabric, yarn, and natural and synthetic fibers, to communicate.
Graphic Design entries could be identity design (logo), package design, point of purchase design, or advertising layout. Also an image or illustration that uses type as the primary element.
Illustration entries provide a visualization in any media that stresses subject, such as a visualization of text (a story, poem, or newspaper article) or computer-generated images constructed using advanced Photoshop techniques (layers).
Metals works may be functional or sculptural entries employing any type of metal fabrication such as forging or casting. These entries might also employ any type of decorative technique such as repoussé or engraving.
Painting works may be acrylic, oil, watercolor, tempera, etc. on any substrate such as paper, panel, or canvas.
Photography images may represent any genre. Prints may be black and white, color, or any alternative process using any format, analog or digital.
Printmaking entries may include relief or intaglio processes as well as lithography, monotype, screen print, etc.
Video videos may be recorded in any format, digital or analog. Videos must be compatible with any computer without proprietary software.
Web Design submissions should demonstrate proficient design and HTML/CSS web usage to produce an interactive website. Submissions should include all necessary support files.
Entries must be delivered to one of these four locations on February 24 – February 26, 2025, unless the instructor makes other arrangements with the Department of Visual Arts. Please contact us if you have concerns about being able to deliver work. The DVA will make every effort to pick up works from individual schools as necessary.
Abbeville, Laurens & Greenwood Counties
Lander University Abney Cultural Center
320 Stanley Ave
Greenwood, SC
Perrin Rickenbaker, Administrative Specialist
864-388-8520
jrickenbaker@lander.edu
CC A257, 8:30 am – 5 pm
Lander University Campus Map
Anderson, Oconee & Pickens Counties
Pendleton High School
7324 Hwy 187
Anderson, SC
Kim Dove, Administrative Assistant
864-403-2100
kdove@anderson4.org
Main Office, 8 am – 4 pm
Cherokee, Spartanburg & Union Counties
USC Upstate Humanities and Performing Arts Center (Bldg G)
170 Gramling Dr
Spartanburg, SC
Denise Oldeack, Administrative Assistant
864-503-5689
doldeack@uscupstate.edu
Room 125, 8 am – 4 pm
USC Upstate Campus Map
Greenville County
Greenville Technical College Benson Campus
2522 Locust Hill Road
Taylors, SC
Pat Owens, Gallery Assistant
864-430-3871
Pat.Owens@gvltec.edu
Bldg 301 Rm 250, 9 am – 5 pm
Please contact us with any questions or to make collection arrangements:
Patrick Owens
Lab Manager/Gallery Assistant
Pat.Owens@gvltec.edu
864-430-3871
Fleming Markel
Gallery Director
Fleming.Markel@gvltec.edu
864-201-5683
Please read all exhibition information carefully before beginning the entry process.
