With finals around the corner, breaks are a necessity to keep your sanity. The next time you’re in need of a break, consider visiting the Amarillo Museum of Art (AMoA).

Amarillo College and West Texas A&M University are currently exhibiting faculty and student artwork at the AMoA through April 24. This collaborative event gives students a chance to display some of their creative expressions for the general public.

Admission is free. The museum is open to the public from 11 a.m. -5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 1-5 p.m on Sundays. There are three floors for visitors to explore.

The second floor contains the entrance to the museum and the exhibition of student and faculty work. I enjoyed my time floating around the exhibit. There is a mixture of canvas art and physical pieces in the middle of the floor. You can easily get lost in the interpretations of the pieces made by students.

Sharon Whipple, a sophomore at Amarillo College, shared how she got into the exhibition.
Students in her introductory art class were tasked with using acrylic paint on a canvas to showcase figures from the class and their life. Whipple used her creative mind to paint a picture of a familiar face and a seamlessly-lined still life.

The class, mentioned by Whipple, had their work placed on the northernmost wall of the second floor. Paintings and photos of grandparents, everyday objects and interpretive art allows viewers to get lost in the present.

Students can explore different creative avenues that they normally don’t partake in. Whipple said her art instructor tasked the students to create acrylic paintings. Whipple explained that she normally uses watercolors in her free time but enjoyed the challenge brought by her instructor.

The first floor contains the offices, workplaces, permanent sculptures and a rotation of presentations. Currently, a showcase on color, ArtSpace: The Power of Color, gives viewers a chance to indulge in the simple creation of art. There are four tables in the room, each providing guests a piece of paper to throw their emotions on and implement knowledge from instructions or from art around the room. I successfully released my inner child in the ArtSpace exhibit and now have some newly-created art.

On the top floor of the AMoA, a display of thousand-plus-year-old Asian art is available for viewing. This is a collection from the private ownership of Dr. William T. Price. Such displays are something you would imagine in the Art Institute of Chicago or The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, not in humble Amarillo.

As a person who has lived in the Texas Panhandle for several years, a trip to the AMoA will open your eyes. You might even enjoy yourself.