USM School Member Torres Named 2022 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Visual Arts Award Winner

Fri,
05/06/2022 – 14:41pm | By: Ivonne Kawas

Every yr the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters (MIAL) acknowledges Mississippi’s
very best writers, artists, and musicians by bestowing awards in inventive fields. This
calendar year, Jennifer Torres, professor and 3D Spot Coordinator in The University of Southern
Mississippi’s (USM) Artwork and Design program, housed in the College of Accomplishing and Visible Arts, acquired an award in the Visual Arts class
for her piece entitled, Backyard garden Boats for Osage Park.

“Professor Torres is a distinguished artist whose trajectory spans an amazing array
of achievements. Her work in sculpture has been exhibited all-around the nation and is
an inspiration for our college students in their individual work. I am honored to provide my congratulations
to Professor Torres for this prestigious award on behalf of the MIAL,” explained Dr. Chris
Winstead, Dean of the University of Arts and Sciences.

Torres and the other winners will be honored at the 43rd Anniversary Awards Gala in
Jackson, Skip., on June 11 at the Mississippi Museum of Art. All nominees and winners
will be honored at a reception prior to the banquet.

“I am really happy and honored to get this excellent award,” Torres explained. “I
function tricky as an artist and professor. To be so recognized by these an esteemed corporation
reveals that really hard perform pays off.”

Torres also mirrored on the integral role that USM played in her enhancement as an
artist. “Over the a long time only a handful of from USM have been honored and am humbled that
I have been preferred to be a part of these kinds of a venerated team.”

“An award like this is also crucial for the learners to see,” Torres additional. “Never
thoughts that it’s a reminder of the do the job their professors do but extra importantly, it is
a reminder of what they can obtain and gives them a further case in point of why the arts
are so significant in our modern society.”

The public artwork Yard Boats, encouraged by the curving lines of the paths in the park, is forever installed
at Osage Park in Bentonville, AR.

Torres commenced her studio education at the Art College students League in New York Metropolis. She
went on to generate a BFA at the Cooper Union and an MFA in Sculpture from the College
of Georgia in Athens. She has labored in metal fabrication, casting, woodworking and
images, and trained as a cabinetmaker in New England. She has previously obtained
a lot of awards like getting chosen for a remarkably-aggressive 2020 Mississippi
Visible Arts Fellowship and named as the Innovative Researcher of the 12 months at USM’s Faculty
of Arts and Sciences.

“We are thrilled to celebrate our gifted Mississippians — extraordinary artists,
writers, and musicians that make our condition a far better location,” said Sarah Frances Hardy,
President of the board of the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters.

This prestigious college or university of awards was first created in 1980 and is presented in nine
categories: Fiction, Non-fiction, Youth Literature, Visual Artwork, Music Composition
(Classical), Tunes Composition (Modern day), Images, Poetry and Lifestyle Crafting.
At the organization’s discretion it often offers a special, life span, or
vocation achievement award.

The MIAL juried level of competition is a person-of-a-kind in the state, as recipients are meticulously
chosen by out-of-point out judges distinguished in their respective fields. MIAL is a privately
funded non-revenue that is supported by Mississippi Institutes of Greater Discovering and
users. Its founding customers consist of: Noel Polk, Aubrey Lucas, Governor William Winter season,
Cora Norman, Keith Dockery McLean, and other distinguished Mississippians.

View extra information and facts about the 2022 MIAL award recipients.