Collage of student artworks including abstract works of bright colors and trees and female figures

Youth Art Exhibit: Fiestas y Recuerdos

Submit Your Artwork

Thank you for your interest in the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center's exhibit, Fiestas y Recuerdos: Youth Art Exhibit. This annual youth art exhibit was formerly known as "Figuralo". This year, the exhibit is virtual only, and the theme is to highlight cultural diversity and holiday traditions. We accept artworks from any youth up to 18 years old. You may submit more than one artwork.

The exhibit will be free and available to the public to view online. Anyone will be able to view the exhibit in three places: this webpage, the Smithsonian Learning Lab and on social media (@ESBMACC).

Parents, teachers, guardians, etc. should use the online form to submit photographs of youth artwork to be included in this online exhibit. The deadline to submit artwork to be included in this online exhibit is January 7th, 2025. The exhibit is expected to go live and available to view on January 13, 2025. There is no end date- it will stay published for the foreseeable future. 

By using this form, you agree to have the artwork that you submit published online. You may opt to have it posted anonymously if the youth artist or their guardian prefers to stay anonymous. An anonymous artwork will be posted as "Youth Artist from XXXX school, XXX grade".

If you have any questions about the exhibit, the submission process, or using the submission form below, please email eufemia.rivera@austintexas.gov.

Groups of children and their teachers in an art gallery viewing student artwork

History of the Exhibit 

The Figúralo Youth Exhibit was founded in 2014 at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC) to exhibit young artists' work. In 2015, curator and educator Pilar Castrejon and ESB-MACC Culture & Arts Education Specialist Lori Navarrete developed this new signature showcase, while creating the exhibits new mission, “in pursuit of the figurative”, while examining the ability to allow young artist to create freely. Since 2015, this exhibit has become an tradition at the ESB MACC where it garnered the reputation for displaying exciting, colorful, and emotionally intelligent artwork made by Austin youth. 

Smithsonian Learning Lab examples

Online Exhibit 

During the COVID pandemic, in order to continue this exhibit, the ESB MACC switched to an online format hosted by the Smithsonian Learning Lab. The Smithsonian Learning Lab is a free, interactive platform that gives museum educators access to millions of Smithsonian digital resources and provides tools so they can upload, adapt, create, and share content with teachers and students. Users can connect their collections with the national collection to tell a richer, more complete story. The learning lab is an online database of images and lesson plans that is free for all users.

Past Exhibits

Feel free to view past youth art exhibits online:

Figuralo 2020