TAMPA, Fla. — More than 180 Hillsborough County students, grades K-12, will have their art on display at the Florida State Fair.
It’s called the Doodad Repurposed Sculpture Competition, and it's hosted by the non-profit organization Tampa Regional Artists.
Every piece of art is made of recycled materials. This year, the building blocks of choice were household plastics and old state fair ribbons.
Kathy Durdin, president of Tampa Regional Artists, said she was proud to give ABC Action News a sneak peek of the work.
“We love that sort of publicity, and I think when you see the sculptures, you’ll agree it’s a great thing for people to come down here to the Florida State Fair and see this,” said Durdin.
As you look closer, you’ll notice a theme: every piece of art must reflect an animal or plant native to Florida.
“You got kids who don’t know what is Florida native, they are going to go out and research, 'is this a Florida native,' and they learn about endangered species, etc., etc.,” said Durdin.
Meanwhile, back at school, the students each gave presentations on what they learned during this art project.
This is the 10th year for Doodad Art, but just the second time they’ve been invited to the fair. For many of these students, it’s the biggest stage their art has ever been on.
“Usually you have a kids art competition and parents see it, friends, that’s about it, here we are at the Florida State Fair, everybody can see it,” said Durdin.
This year, more than $5,000 in prize money will also be taken home.
“The exciting thing is we have a very large portion of students here from Title One schools too, which is really exciting that we have some great Title One skills art teachers in Hillsborough County,” said Durdin.
For more information on the competition, go here.
