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Awards will be presented Tuesday [APRIL 13] to East Central University art students based on their portfolio performance in the 55th annual Student Exhibition in the Pogue Art Gallery in the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center.

The scholarship awards will be presented at 5:30 p.m. during the opening reception which runs from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Students will exhibit works from their various fields of study, including ceramics, drawings, digital images, paintings, prints, sculpture and watercolors, through April 28. This year's exhibit contains a number of works recently featured in the Momentum Oklahoma City Exhibit.

The Leon Polk Smith Award is named for Oklahoma's best known artist. Smith graduated from ECU in the 1930's and studied at Columbia University in New York. He is known as one of the founders of the American Minimalist movement shortly after World War II. The scholarship he endowed is awarded to outstanding artists in each class.

The Gladys Kendall Scholarship was endowed by longtime area resident Gladys Kendall who sought to encourage deserving students in the arts. The Grant Thorp Scholarship is endowed by the family and friends of the former ECU professor, a beloved instructor and respected artist.

The Emma Box Scholarship was endowed by longtime ECU faculty member Emma Box. One of the co-founding art faculty members, she was a student of Hans Hoffman and is well known for her formalist collages and expressive figurative works.

New this year is the Ruth Walker/Landrum Sculpture Scholarship. Walker was an adjunct instructor during the early years of the Art Department, and the scholarship has been endowed by her son in her memory.

Additionally, awards will be presented by the Art Department faculty and the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. The Ada Artist Association also will recognize a meritorious student.

Historically, student exhibitions have functioned as a way for art departments and schools to assess their performance from year to year. ECU's annual student show has been a tradition for more than 40 years. Many of the student participants throughout that time have become significant artists and art educators making significant artistic contributions in their own right, said Dr. Brad Jessop, chair of the Art Department.

The Pogue Gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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