Martel Award 2014: Sidney Tennant

Sidney Tennant has been selected as the recipient of the fifteenth annual Marian and Speros Martel Award of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. The Martel Award is given annually to a graduating senior chosen by the Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston in consultation with the visual arts faculty at the senior’s high school. The selection criteria include: production of a significant and meritorious body of work during the senior year, plans to attend an accredited college, university, or art school, and exceptional promise in the visual arts and attendant professions.

Tennant describes her work as, "Blanketed in history and sensory images, my work conveys the pure quality of memories. Photographs and ephemeral memorabilia of my ancestors and life experience evoke an intense curiosity and nostalgia. I capture and convey a sense of intimacy and commonality using old photographs, needlework, and personal artifacts. My work opens a dialogue between past and present exploring traditions, ceremonies, family lore, and personal quirks. Incorporating images and common perspective with fragments from my own family history, I create tactile representations that convey the universal quality of memories."

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