MANCHESTER ESSEX — Superintendent Pam Beaudoin, Principal Julie Sgroi, and Art Educator Tamera Burns are pleased to announce that five MERHS visual arts students won awards for the 2026 UMASS Dartmouth Emerging Artists Competition.
The Emerging Youth Artists and Designers is UMASS Dartmouth’s College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) 13-year tradition celebrating the exceptional artistic merit of New England high school students.
The highly competitive online juried exhibition received submissions from over 550 young artists this year, which were then narrowed down to 100 for the exhibition by the jurors, CVPA Dean Denise Baxter and Associate Dean Ann Kim.
MERHS students Grayson Harden, Luke Renzi, Parker Woodman, Riley Mckinnon, and Felix Wood were among the 100 students selected for the exhibition.
“We are extremely proud to announce the list of MERHS students who juried into this competition,” said Burns. “It is remarkable for a school of this size to have students who qualify for juried competitions such as this.”
The students’ artwork includes the following:
Award winners will have the opportunity to exhibit their work in the UMass Dartmouth CVPA Campus Gallery from Saturday, Feb. 14 through Sunday, Feb. 22, with an awards presentation and reception taking place on Sunday, Feb. 22 from 12:30-2:00p.m.
An online showcase of the selected pieces will be available at www.umassd.edu/cvpa/explore/emerging-young-artists following the virtual award ceremony on Friday, Feb. 6 at 4:30 p.m.
“We are so proud to see the talents of our students recognized as some of the best in the region,” said Principal Sgroi. “We are proud to foster an arts education where students feel they can express themselves and pursue storytelling through creativity. This achievement is a testament to our art educators and entire student body, and we extend our congratulations to all.”
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