FORT SMITH (KFSM) – A University of Arkansas – Fort Smith student is having his work displayed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., something few artists get the chance to do, according to a news release.
Ryan Starkey, studying studio art, was one of 15 artists selected as winners of the 2014 VSA Emerging Young Artists Award, given by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the release states.
The award recognizes the work of artists age 16-25 who are living with disabilities. His painting, Help is a Far Cry, will hang in the Smithsonian until January of 2015, according to the release. In January, he’ll travel to Washington, D.C., and be honored at an awards ceremony.
“The painting is the first in a trilogy of works conveying the process Starkey undergoes every morning getting out of bed. The second painting is titled ‘Though Fallen I Must Rise Again,’ and the third painting, ‘A Fight to Freedom,’ is currently on display in the Fullerton Administration Building on UAFS campus,” the release states.
“The first two paintings in the series were taking my figure and depicting how I essentially crawl across the floor to get to my walker and how I lift myself up to use it,” Starkey said. “In the first painting, I’m on the floor, scooting towards the walker, and my hand is extended reaching towards it, but there’s that little bit of space in there that offers some tension.”
