Published on Feb. 19, 2020
[contentblock slug=”vads-2020-slideshow”]
It was another exuberant and energetic Visual Art & Design Showcase (VADS) as the fifth annual event wrapped up its 2020 festivities. Despite multiple snow and ice storms — one of which closed campus — the keynote speaker address and award ceremony brought out students, staff, faculty and alumni to celebrate artistic expression and design among Mizzou’s undergraduates Feb. 12, at Jesse Hall.
The full event — which ran Feb. 3–13 — drew 80 submissions and featured 36 selected projects by 37 students. Represented majors included art, architectural studies, digital storytelling, film studies, graphic design, hospitality management, interdisciplinary studies, journalism, plant sciences, textile and apparel design, theatre, and women’s and gender studies.
Guest lecturer Craig Wilkins delivered his keynote address on the importance of community collaboration, highlighting his upbringing in Chicago as well as his multifaceted art and design career throughout the U.S.
“You have power,” Wilkins encouraged the attending artists. “You have knowledge and you have skills. Own your position as public intellectual, because people need to know what you know.”
Jim Spain, vice provost of undergraduate studies and the evening’s emcee, introduced the 2020 VADS award winners beginning with those selected by guest jurors Sasha Waters Freyer, Hitomi Gilliam and Thomas Piché Jr. Spain specially thanked local radio station KOPN, which featured three VADS students on its show “Speaking of the Arts” and provided its studio to record the live jury discussion which was snowed out Feb. 5.
2020 Visual Art & Design Showcase Award Winners
Artistic Expression
- Award of merit: $500 to Reactions of Reactions, a mixed media painting by Joe Dino
- Award of merit: $500 to Handlebars, a video by Ryan Groom
- Runner up: $1,000 to Caged Birds, a photograph series by Jessica Tifase
- Grand prize: $2,000 to Reflections, a collaborative installation piece by Robin Haithcoat and Madessyn Zahn
Applied Design
- Award of merit: $500 to I G N O T Z Missouri Heritage Garden, a landscape design by Zachary Ignotz
- Award of merit: $500 to Jefferson Middle School by Melanie West, an adaptive reuse design
- Runner up: $1,000 to A to Z Breakfast Cards by Jasmyne Tyler, a graphic design project
- Grand prize: $2,000 to OTC Aquatics by Andy Kreiter, an architectural design project
Sager Braudis Gallery Exhibition Award & Scholarship
- Reflective by Robin Haithcoat and Madessyn Zahn, a collaborative installation piece
Ragtag Cinema Video Award
- Cigarette in Love by Roxanne Wan, a film
University of Missouri Libraries Exhibition Award
- Fugue by Amanda Lee and Molly Wainscott, a dress design
Museum of Art & Archaeology Showcase Award
- False Profits by Tyree Taylor, paintings
People’s Choice Award
- False Profits by Tyree Taylor, paintings