About ArtFest
ArtFest is the annual student art competition and exhibition sponsored by the Memorial Student Center’s Visual Arts Committee. ArtFest 2026 will be on display in the James R. Reynolds Student Art Gallery from March 4 to April 26, 2026. The top three winners of ArtFest will receive a cash prize. Winners will be announced publicly at the reception on April 15, 2026 from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. in the James R. Reynolds Gallery. Admission is free and artists, friends, faculty, and family members are invited to attend.
Artwork submissions will be collected in the Reynolds Gallery during the week of February 23, 2026 so save the date now!
Early bird submission fees start January 12 on the MSC Visual Arts Committee Marketplace eStore. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Look for ticket availability in early 2026.
All submissions must be ready to hang (with hooks, picture wire, brackets, or other hardware on the back). 3-dimensional submissions must be freestanding, or you must provide some form of support. If you are unsure how to prepare your work, review page 3 of the ArtFest 2026 Rules and Instructions, or email [email protected].
Follow our Instagram @msc_vac or visit vac.tamu.edu/artfest for important submission updates in early 2026.
How to submit artwork to ArtFest 2026
ArtFest 2025 Winners and Exhibit
Congratulations to our 2025 winners featured below.
To view the ArtFest 2025 virtual exhibit, visit tx.ag/ArtFest2025
*First Place*
Opening Day
Oil Painting
By Toryn Autry
Senior Visualization major, from Marion, TX.
Artist Statement: Opening Day’ captures the quiet anticipation of hunting season. Three dogs, each focused in their own way, stand in a field of tall grass; one gazing into the distance, the others scenting the ground. Soft light filters through the clouds, embodying the stillness and excitement that fills the air on the first day of the hunt.
*Second Place*
Likeness
Pencil drawing
By Samica Joshua
Freshman Public Health major, from Frisco, TX.
Artist Statement: Growing up, I often felt a certain contempt for my ethnic features, struggling to appreciate what made me unique. However, with age, a deep fondness for them has blossomed, especially as I see them reflected in the faces of my loved ones. Through this photo of my father, I sought to depict those features with care and love, highlighting our likeness as a testament to the beauty in our shared identity.
*Third Place Tie*
Comet Tsuchinshan–ATLAS Over Aggieland
Photography
By Will Pierce
Senior Construction Science major, from Amarillo, TX.
Artist Statement: This photograph captures Comet A3 ATLAS streaking over the iconic Aggie Barn off Highway 6—a once-in-a-lifetime celestial event. I traveled with friends from the Texas A&M Photography Club to witness and document this rare moment. Using a Fujifilm X-H2 at 16mm with a 20-second exposure, I carefully balanced time spent setting up with the urgency of the comet sinking below the horizon. Knowing that this comet won’t return for another 80,000 years made the experience even more significant. This image is a reflection of that fleeting, extraordinary night under the Texas sky.
*Winner for Best Film*
Lipstick Stains & Cigarette Burns
Film
Nicole Fultz
Sophomore Industrial & Systems Engineering major, from
Houston, Texas.
Artist Statement: Similar to a Norman Rockwell painting in their depictions of everyday life and idealized sentiment, I used this project to highlight small everyday occurrences by creating connections between objects and experiences. My film, however, is also an effort to question Rockwell’s portrayal of sentiment. I do so by expanding on the less ideal complexities of memories through visual storytelling. In my short film the stories behind the objects are obscured in a pink tint, a dreamlike and “rose-colored-glasses” perspective. As the film progresses, the mood shifts to reveal the various emotions correlated with each memory. There is more than one emotion stained, smudged, and burned into our everyday lives from each experience, and remembered in each souvenir.
Previous Winners
