ArtNow 2020
Juried exhibition showcases best-of works by emerging talent from across the county.
March 20 - June 21, 2020
It’s that time of year again! Welcome the ninth annual ArtNow juried Santa Clara County high school art exhibition to the NUMU galleries! The exhibition and educational program give county high school students the experience of presenting artwork in a professional museum setting and the opportunity to participate in supporting educational and career development programs. ArtNow is on view at NUMU from Friday, March 20th through Sunday, May 10th. An opening reception and awards ceremony for exhibiting artists, their families and friends, and program sponsors will be held on the evening of March 20th.
Each year a new exhibition theme is selected. Students are invited to respond to the exhibition theme through an original work of art that visually communicates their ideas in their choice of media and subject. Past exhibition themes include “perspectives,” “choices, “bridges: facing challenges, and “dare.” The 2020 exhibition theme is “water.” Students are responsible for submitting images of their work online for jury review and delivering their artworks ready to hang or for display. There is no application fee to submit artworks to the program.
After the rigorous submission process is completed, a panel of university-level art instructors jury the submissions, select 75-80 works to be exhibited and choose the winning pieces of art from among several categories including: 2D, 3D & video/media. A total of $10,000 in awards and scholarships are given out annually through the program, including a “Best in Show” winner who receives a $5,000 education scholarship. Past award recipients have gone on to study at the Rhode Island School of Design, UC Berkeley, Cal Poly SLO, the Parsons School of Design, and UCLA. The generous program scholarships and awards offer tangible recognition of artistic talent, amplify personal voices of area youths, and encourage students to aspire to achieving higher education.
The ArtNow program has grown in size and scope since its inception in 2012 when it received just over 250 entries from 24 county high schools. More than 900 works from more than 47 schools have been submitted for the 2020 exhibition. “When teachers with whom we collaborate to develop the program and encourage student participation, discover the depth of the competition’s process, they appreciate how it enhances other academic strategies and adds excitement to students’ learning.” explains Maureen Cappon-Javey, NUMU’s Executive Director. “The ArtNow program continues to enrich the high school arts curriculum throughout Santa Clara County by focusing well-deserved attention on the arts by providing a competition that offers real world experience for emerging artists.”
The ArtNow program is further supported by a series of educational programs developed in partnership with the California College of the Arts and the NUMU Painting and Drawing Atelier to support and guide high school through the college admissions process and prepare for a career in the arts.
Major 2020 program support is provided by Badger Meter, Inc., and the Michael and Alyce Parsons Foundation. Additional support is provided by the Los Gatos Morning Rotary, The Flick Family, The Town of Los Gatos, San Jose Water Company, Ginger & John McDonald, The Linda Smythe Young Artists Fund, Heritage Bank of Commerce, Valerie & John Hopkins and University Art.
