What is AYAA?
The Arkansas Young Artists Association (AYAA) is a state-wide organization of high school students enrolled in grades 9th through 12th. Membership dues are $15.00 per student; sponsors do not pay membership dues. This organization had school chapters in 37 high schools in Arkansas last year.
The main focus of the AYAA organization is the annual spring convention and competition. Last year the approximately1000 students from across the state came together at the Little Rock Convention Center.
This year’s AYAA Competition and Convention will be held again at the Little Rock Convention Center all day on Tuesday, March 13, 2012. During the convention, students are encouraged to bring up to five pieces of artwork that they have created that year. All of the artworks are divided into 66 categories for awards. A rather large group of independent jurors select the award winning works for each of the competition areas. Awards are presented to the 1st through 4th place winners and honorable mentions as well as a BEST OF SHOW. While the jurors are judging the artworks, the students are involved in the on-site competitions in six different categories OR they are in the main meeting hall with a keynote speaker… usually a contemporary artist. (If you have a suggestion for this year’s keynote speaker, please email me.) After a lunch break, the students are allowed to view all of the artwork in the main hall but the awards are kept secret. The last event of the day is the exciting awards ceremony where the many awards are announced through a wonderful power-point presentation and the winners receive their awards on stage.
