Prepare to be cultured this month as students from Georgia Southern University’s Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art present their creations at GSU’s annual Juried Undergraduate Exhibition and Foundations: Form and Content Exhibition.

Many pieces were submitted to be judged in the exhibits, and the artwork was narrowed down by artist jurors Scott Raynor, Chair at High Point University’s School of Art and Design and Henry Detweiler, gallery director of the MINT art gallery located in Atlanta.

“Primarily, I’m just looking for artwork that has a strong point of view and shows promise and relevance in the contemporary art world and here at Georgia Southern,” Detweiler, a Georgia State University graduate, said.

Students have been working all year to showcase their art in these exhibitions. Each year students are awarded various scholarships based on their art contributions, including the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art Scholarship.

The winners of this year’s Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art Scholarship were Tre Harris, Ray Pettit, and Emily Oren, and both Harris and Oren have pieces showcased in the exhibition.

“It’s important for the families to come by and see it to see that their children are doing something worthwhile and it’s actually a big deal. Other students should see it to know that art is more than something that you swap together. There’s a lot of work that goes into it,” Oren, a freshman 2-D studio art major and public relations minor, said.

The Undergraduate Juried Exhibition hosts various student works ranging from painting, printmaking, jewelry, photography and ceramics. The Form and Content Exhibition hosts work from students taking art foundations courses, such as drawing, 2-D and 3-D design.

“I wanted to become an art major because I was told I couldn’t do it. I was pushed to be an engineer and it’s just not for me. I’ve been an artist since kindergarten. It’s pretty cool to win. I don’t really like to brag but for someone to take the time out to award me or to recognize me it’s pretty humbling,” Harris, a junior 2-D studio art major, said.

Both the Juried Undergraduate Exhibitions and Foundations: Form and Content Exhibitions will be featured in the Center for Art and Theatre until April 20.