11th graders take top honors at 2022 Rodeo School Art Awards
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- We're about three weeks away from the official kick-off of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, but rodeo excitement is reaching a fever pitch as the 2022 School Art Champions were just named.
This year's Grand Champion is 11th grader Gracin Nguyen from Pearland ISD who submitted a colored drawing titled "In His Hands."
It features a cowboy on one knee holding his cowboy hat.
The Reserve Champion went to another 11th grader, Mia Huckman from Lamar CISD.
Her work, named "Partners in Time," shows a cowboy on horseback at a ranch.
Thousands of students participated in the Rodeo's 2022 School Art Program, from 95 public school districts and 54 private schools.
Teachers sent more than 3,000 pieces of students' artwork to the Rodeo for preliminary judging in January. The judges selected 739 pieces of artwork to advance to the next round of judging on Jan. 30, where 72 students were selected to participate in the School Art Auction, which will be held Sunday, March 13.
Just in case you were wondering, last year's Grand Champion painting sold for $155,000, but it wasn't a record-breaker. That honor goes to the 2019 winner, which was bought for a whopping $240,000.
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