Students, faculty and community members gathered for SAC’s annual student juried art exhibit at the college’s Visual Arts Center Thursday. The exhibit, curated by arts faculty and staff, featured exceptional student works produced in the 2024-2025 academic year.
“It is the highlight of the year,” said Alfonso Cantu, Associate Professor of Arts and Discipline Coordinator for the Visual Arts Program. “It displays artwork that shows high merit.”
The exhibit featured paintings, digital media, photography, sculpture and three-dimensional design. Cantu said submissions were reviewed and selected through a detailed jurying process involving staff and faculty. Each juror tagged standout works, and pieces with the most support were curated into the exhibit.
“This artwork is produced year-round by many different classes,” Cantu said. “From digital media drawing to photography and sculpture. Color Theory is a new course that we’re very proud of.”
One of the lead jurors, Cantu emphasized the importance of collaboration in evaluating the pieces. In the weeks before the exhibition, jurors collectively reviewed pieces from the fall and spring semesters.
Visual Arts program officials also awarded eight SAC students scholarships from the Robert & Laura Fainter Memorial and the James C. Elmore II Memorial. The Elmore Scholarship is reserved for full-time students with a GPA of 3.0 or higher and San Antonio College as their main campus, while the Fainter Scholarship supports part-time students with at least six credit hours and a minimum GPA of 2.5. Five students received the Fainter Scholarship, and three received the Elmore Scholarship.
“These scholarships recognize students for their high merits in art,” said Cantu. “It’s a way for the faculty to nominate and support students showing great promise.”
Sophomore art major Jack Chamberlin received one of the James C. Elmore II Memorial scholarships.
“This scholarship means a lot,” Chamberlain told the Sundial. “I’m a painter. I take that craft very seriously. It’s an honor to be recognized. As students, we sit and talk philosophically and technically. Just finding people to be able to express this all with means a lot.”
Christina D. Sanchez, a sophomore majoring in art and design, also received scholarship support via the Robert & Laura Fainter Memorial and credited it with enabling her creative process.
“I wouldn’t have been able to get any of my art done without this scholarship,” Sanchez said. “I’m a starving artist, so having the help to get these materials is so amazing.”
Cantu, an alumnus of SAC’s Visual Arts program, said he continues to be inspired by the evolving styles and aesthetics each year.
“There’s never a dull moment,” he said. “It’s a great way to teach and show residence, but also to inform newly enrolled students on what they can do.”
The exhibit will remain open through the fall semester, offering a window into the artistic achievements and aspirations of San Antonio College’s student artists.
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