Stephen F. Austin State University

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS - Works by three art students at Stephen F. Austin State University will be included in "TEXAS NATIONAL 2008" which will open at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 5, at The Art Center @ The Old Opera House, located at 329 E. Main Street in downtown Nacogdoches.

"The Road Home," an inkjet print by Silsbee senior Jennifer Allen; "Peeling Appearances," an acrylic by Abilene freshman Teysha Brown; and "Creacion IV," a ceramic piece by graduate student Kira Enriquez of Mexico are among the 92 pieces selected for the national juried exhibition.

Created by the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art, TEXAS NATIONAL is celebrating its 14th year on the national scene, said Christian Cutler, the university's director of galleries. The competition is open to all artists living and working in the United States and is juried each year by an internationally acclaimed artist.

More than 400 artists from 47 states and the District of Columbia entered this year's competition. Works by 89 artists were selected for the exhibition, and cash prizes totaling $4,500 will be awarded to three artists following the exhibition's opening at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 5.

Roger Shimomura, whose paintings, prints and theatre pieces address sociopolitical issues of Asian America, is serving as juror for this year's event. An exhibition of the artist's work, "Roger Shimomura: An American Foreigner," will be on display in the second floor gallery of The Art Center April 5 through May 18.

Regular hours for both exhibitions are 12:30 to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. Both exhibitions are sponsored in part by Texas Commission on the Arts, SFA Friends of the Visual Arts, Nacogdoches Junior Forum and Wachovia Securities of Nacogdoches.

For more information on either exhibition or the opening, please call (936) 468-1131.