DOWAGIAC — Last week, a room on Southwestern Michigan College’s campus was filled with colorful paintings, creative digital art and out-of-the-box sculptures as part of a student art showcase.

SMC hosted an awards ceremony for its spring art showcase last Wednesday. For the exhibition, approximately 200 student artists participated in a juried art show. Several awards were given out to students as part of the ceremony. Each student that took an art class throughout the year had the opportunity to show two works.

Marc Dombrosky, chair of the fine and performing arts department, said the show benefits students by allowing them to showcase their work to a broader community and get feedback from people outside of the art department.

“This is our way of bringing the community together in one space,” he said.

Current SMC student and Niles High School graduate Evan Robison, 20, won both best in show and the president’s award at last Wednesday’s showcase. As part of his best in show win, Robison was granted a $500 scholarship to go toward classes at SMC.

A graphic design and visual arts major, Robison said he was grateful for having won the awards.

“This is the craziest thing,” Robison said, his voice teeming with energetic excitement. “I was just told that there was a ceremony I might want to attend. I didn’t expect any of this. It’s really shocking, and it really makes me feel really good. It was out of nowhere. It’s really inspiring.”

For the president’s award, one of Robison’s pieces, a technicolor painting of a woman featuring greens and purples, will be on display at SMC for a year. Robison said his mother inspired the painting.

“I’ve always looked up to mom because she is independent,” she said. “When I saw [the photo he based the painting on] I saw determination, which is something I always saw in my mom. I always saw her pushing and striving to be better, and I thought [the painting] could represent all women who are trying to do that.”

Though Dombrosky was not on the jury committee that chose best in show, he said that Robison’s work showed emotion and was skillful and engaging.

Dombrosky said he was proud of all of the students who participated in the show.

“When you look at all the works from these classes, everyone does so well,” he said. “You get the sense that [the students] are always in progress, and have a lot of enthusiasm for what they are doing.”