Mayor Attends 35th Annual Lubbock, TX NAP Reception

The Garden & Arts Center in Lubbock, Texas hosted their 35th Annual National Arts Program exhibit from October 19th through November 23rd this year. The annual exhibit featured artwork by City of Lubbock employees, volunteers, retirees, their family members and previous Garden and Arts Center exhibitors. The City of Lubbock Mayor Pro-Tem Christy Martinez-Garcia was available and happy to present awards at the 35th Annual Reception which took place on November 1st. Coordinator Johanna Feminear and her staff agreed that the collection of 96 pieces of art that were submitted this year, were one of the best yet. The showcase offered an incredible variety of work that made for a lovely gallery installation.

Johanna and everyone at the GAC work tirelessly to make this program a joyous occasion for all involved. This year, as they have in the past, youth and teen participants were gifted a package, including the NAP sketchbook along with balloons, stickers, drawing pencils, blending sticks, pencil sharpeners, ink pens, and art erasers too! This kind of encouragement of young artistic expression is such a wonderful part of this exhibition.

Judges for the 2024 City of Lubbock National Arts Program exhibit included Zach Morriss, owner of Charles Adams Gallery; Nancy Slagle, Associate Professor, Texas Tech University of Art; and Melinda Green Harvey, a writer and photographer based in Lubbock. Having a varied and esteemed panel of judges only adds to the experience for all participants and brings together members of the community for the shared purpose of making the arts accessible for all. We are so grateful that Lubbock has such a long tradition of bringing art forward from their incredible community.

Pictured above is intermediate category artist Alexandro Monroy posing with his amazing large-scale painting entitled ‘Robotico’. Alexandro was the People’s Choice Winner and is a volunteer at the GAC. Pictured below is Best of Show winner Seth Neill with his mixed media piece entitled “On the Water”. Seth was a gifted carpenter and mason for over 40 years and has found his passion in metal, wood, stone and mixed media art pieces. He is fascinated with light and movement and often incorporates these elements into his work. Seth continues to explore new mediums and produce art in a way that he never had time for before.