An acrylic piece of art entitled “Poverty” created by senior Lauren Glozzy won first place in the second annual Student Art Show.

The event, hosted by V-Paint and CAT, was held in the Villanova Room on Feb. 21, displayed original student artwork.

Students were able to submit up to three pieces of their own original artwork to enter into the show.

The artists, as well as students, faculty, family and friends were invited to get of glimpse of the talent and creativity found within the Villanova community.

Each piece was eligible for consideration by the judges, which consisted of two students, art faculty professors and a Villanova staff member, for first place recognition, according to Nikki Hornsberry, Assistant Director for Student Development-Programming. Each piece of artwork was judged on style of medium, creativity and arrangement.

“I was really surprised when I won first place because I’ve never submitted my work for anything before and I was really nervous to display it,” Glozzy said. “No one other than close friends and family has ever looked at my artwork prior to this show – much less judge it.  Even when people were walking around the room, every time someone stopped by my pieces it gave me butterflies.  Still, I’m glad they liked what they saw.”

According to Glozzy, “Poverty,” is an acrylic on canvas of the face of a child. Surrounding this child’s face are newspaper articles that discuss the topic of poverty. Atop the canvas is a quote by human rights advocate, Mahatma Gandhi that says, “Poverty is the worst form of violence.”

The artist, who described herself as an advocate of human rights, said that her inspiration for “Poverty” was a picture of a young boy she had seen on the website for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

“When people look at this piece, I hope it makes them think about the personal struggles of others and makes them want to do something about it,” Glozzy said.

According to Glozzy, as first place winner, Villanova has offered to buy her winning piece to put on display on campus.

Although she was uncertain whether she would accept the offer, she said she was flattered to hear such positive feedback about her work.

With events such as the art show, students are given an outlet that encourages them to engage in fields outside of academics.

“This art show is one of the most unique events surrounding the Villanova community,” Hornsberry wrote in an e-mail. “Many times we are unaware that students desire art and have such creative forces inside of them. We know they have educated minds, but we lack to see the beauty they possess in an artistic matter and this show is their outlet. It influences the community to be inspired and shows us that there is an artist in all of us.”

Over the past several years, the artistic talents of Villanova students have become more and more prominent on campus and throughout the community. Groups such as V-Paint, led by junior Michael Raysor, have emerged and helped to increase the visibility of talented students every year. V-Paint has hosted the Student Art Show for the past two years.

The Villanova Art Project, another student group, led by junior Kirsten McAuliffe and sophomore Meghan Mehan, helps encourage students’ creative abilities no matter what their level of talent.

According to Mehan, this fall the Villanova Art Project applied their love of art to helping the community. They participated in the St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service by helping to paint a fence at a Philadelphia school.