The San Jacinto College South Campus Department of Art and Design will host its annual Student Juried Art Exhibition April 18 through May 6.

A juried exhibition is a competition where participants’ work is judged and submitted by jurors. The artwork selected for submission is based on what jurors feel will best represent the show.

South campus art gallery director and coordinator of the exhibition, Jeffrey McGee, gathered local art industry professionals to select the top artists for the showcase.

According to McGee, this is a great opportunity for students to get a glimpse of the professional art scene.

“We do this every year to give students the taste of the real world after school,” McGee said. “The jurors I selected will make the final decision.”

Participating students must be enrolled in at least one South campus art course during the 2015-2016 academic year. They may enter up to five original works.

McGee said it is hard to gauge whose work will be accepted; it all depends on the jurors’ judgment.

An award ceremony and reception honoring the winning students will be held April 27. The top three chosen artists will receive what McGee calls “purchase awards;” money for the purchase of their work. The first-place winner receives $200, followed by $150 for second place, and $100 for the third-place winner. In turn, the winning artwork remains with the art department where it becomes part of a permanent collection.

Likewise, the top artists will be able to list three separate accomplishments on their resume; one for showcasing their artwork, another for selling it, and a third because their work is part of a permanent collection.

South campus art student, Haley Hernandez will submit two of her paintings to the exhibition. Hernandez said she hopes this will become her second showcase; her first was at University of Houston Clear Lake’s annual student exhibition last fall.

Her first submission is a painting called “Peace, Love, and Paint” which Hernandez said “is about layering colors.” The second one is titled “Wild,” a piece she said was inspired by a book she read and “fell in love.”

Moreover, Hernandez credits the flavor of her work to a painting course she took that encouraged her to trust her instincts. When it comes art, she noted, it is not about imagining a perfect end product, but about “the process of getting there” that matters.

The Student Juried Art Exhibition will be displayed April 18 through May 6 in the Art Gallery of the Flickinger Fine Arts Center on the South campus. The award ceremony and reception takes place April 27 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The event is open to the public, and there is no charge for admission.