TEMPLE, Texas — A Temple High School student’s artwork has been selected for display among other works of art from across the state as part of the 2025-2026 Texas Art Education Association’s (TAEA) Youth Art Month Exhibition.
The TAEA selects approximately 100 pieces of artwork from submissions from across the state of Texas for inclusion in the Youth Art Month Exhibition. Temple High School junior Emma Hamer-Kilber’s submission “Harlequin’s Proposal” was selected by a panel of jurors from the TAEA Youth Art Month Committee to be included in this year’s exhibition. Hamer-Kilber’s artwork will be on display at the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin throughout the month of March.
“It is really cool, and I am really excited,” Hamer-Kilber said. “It is just really cool that I get to have something so meaningful to me put somewhere that people can see it.”
Hamer-Kilber says the piece was inspired by her love of clowns, pantomime, and old theater. She also did not get the feeling at the time that she was creating something that might be award-worthy, so the honor is a nice surprise.
This the believed to be the first time a Temple ISD student’s artwork has been selected for display in the TAEA Youth Art Month Exhibition. Hamer-Kilber is a student in Heidi Fuller’s Art III class at Temple High School, and the teacher is also extremely proud of Hamer-Kilber’s selection for the exhibition.
“It is pretty awesome, and it has been a long road, because I feel like things like this just haven’t happened in a while,” Fuller said of the honor. “It makes me feel like we can put stuff out in the world and have recognition for what we are doing. It is amazing and I am very excited about it for Emma.”
There will also be an awards ceremony at the conclusion of the Youth Art Month Exhibition and several of the artworks will also be selected for display in the Governor’s Business Office in Austin for one year. The TAEA sponsors several Youth Art Month activities during the month of March to coincide with National Youth Art Month.