Jake Taylor, Ada High School senior, is one of 25 students in Ohio to receive the Governor’s Award of Excellence during this year’s Ohio Governor’s Youth Art Exhibition. His work titled "Business Trip" is a ceramic work. 
 
He was chosen from 12,000 entries from across the state, according to Gary Wells, Ada High School art teacher. Click here for the entire list of artists in the show.

State jurors selected 300 for the actual exhibition, with 25 of the 300 chosen to receive the Governor's Award of Excellence.

The exhibition opens in April at the James A. Rhodes State Office Tower, across from the State Capitol. It closes at the end of May. At the exhibition opening, students receive Awards of Excellence and scholarship awards.

The show’s purpose is to provide all young artists of the state with opportunities to advance their talent, whether that be through scholarships or simply experiencing the process of entering their work in a competition.

The process of selecting artworks for the state exhibition begins on a regional level. The state is divided into 15 regional locations, with high school students in each region invited to enter work in that regional judging.

Each region has a regional director responsible for choosing the judges for that region.

The state judging takes place in Columbus; however, the judges for this level of competition are chosen from all over the country and are generally professional artists, college level instructors or both.