Kevin Quiles Bonilla, “Colonial Wall Push”, 2016.

MFA student Kevin Quiles Bonilla ’18 has been selected to receive an award and be featured in a traveling group show by Electrify!, the VSA Emerging Young Artist’s Program.

The Kennedy Center and Volkswagen Group of America have teamed up for the VSA Emerging Young Artists Program, a Jean Kennedy Smith Arts Program, to recognize and showcase the work of emerging young artists, ages 16-25, who are residing in the United States. Fifteen winning artists are selected out of hundreds of applicants: Kevin is one of these select fifteen. Winners exhibit their selected artwork in a yearlong nationally touring exhibition, and attend an all-expenses-paid professional development workshop in Washington, D.C.

This year’s artists were challenged to create work that exemplifies themes of dynamic awakening and active curiotsity—of electrifying our being with the sense and the mind. The winners were selected for their often-enlightening interpretations of the theme, sending a strong message of inclusion and unty in the arts.

Art should excite our senses, awaken our curiosity, and electrify our very being. It has the ability to invigorate and empower the artist and viewer alike, but just as important, art can spark empathy and ignite understanding. These artworks are charged with ideas, that act as conduits for creative reflection on the past, explore the “now”, and invoke a future full of possibility and inclusivity.

This coming Wednesday, October 25, there will be an opening reception.

See more about the award here and Kevin’s work here.