The only permanent art collection in The Woodlands (a master planned community outside of Houston) is at The Woodlands High School (TWHS), a public school. Over the past 7 years, TWHS Art Trust have been using proceeds from the Homecoming Dance to purchase 34 pieces by 29 Texas artists.
This year, the student committee has whittled down the entries to 13 nominees which are displayed for the entire student body to view. On February 1, every student will cast their vote for their favorite. The school will use the funds to purchase as many of the top contenders as it can. It is a good list:
Kelsey Baker (Austin), Lydia Bodnar-Balahutrak (Houston), JooYoung Choi (Houston), Daniel Elliott (Cypress), Rod Flower (The Woodlands), Raul Gonzalez (San Antonio), Trenton Hancock (Houston), Dee Jon (Houston), Tyler Kay (Humble), Lynet McDonald (The Woodlands), Vivian Quevedo (Conroe), Doerte Weber (San Antonio), and Nancy Wood (San Antonio).
Will the Han Solo portrait beat out the Trenton Doyle Hancock piece? Will dark, teen angst works win over colorful, joyous paintings? We’ll have to wait and see. To view all the nominated works, go here.