UC engineering student's painting displayed in the Met

Ava Collins, architectural engineering student, has a passion for art

Ava Collins, a University of Cincinnati architectural engineering student, has always had a passion for art, thriving in her advanced art classes in high school. While she was preparing to begin her undergraduate program at UC, she received the news that one of her pieces was selected to be displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or the Met, the largest art museum in the Americas.

Ava Collins poses with a family member. They hold a sign that reads "We love Ava"

Ava Collins is studying architectural engineering at the University of Cincinnati. Photo/Provided

Initially, Collins was not planning on attending UC. She was fully committed to another university, when something with her financial aid changed, nearly quadrupling the cost. UC was among the schools she applied to months prior, and she remembered that they offered both architectural engineering and had a strong art program. Just weeks before the fall semester kicked off, having never been to campus, Ava Collins became an official Bearcat. She just completed her first year in May. 

"My orientation was a few days after I moved in, so that's when I was able to get acclimated to campus," she said. "I'm kind of glad the other door closed, because I feel like everything happens for a reason, and this is the path I'm supposed to be on. I'm excited for co-ops and to see how things start to flourish."

Growing up in northern Ohio, Collins was very dedicated in high school, taking numerous advanced, International Baccalaureate classes, preparing her to go on to higher education. These courses, she shared, enable students to explore the concepts they're learning at a deeper level. 

"My senior year art class was a lot of research, and forming my portfolio pieces around that research," Collins said. "My portfolio senior year was about domestication and how humans interact with one another."

Ava Collins' painting displayed in the Met. The painting is of a teenage girl holding a little boy in a kitchen

UC student Ava Collins' artwork is on display at the Met. Photo/Provided

The art piece displayed in the Met is about the setup of a household in most communities of color. Typically, the eldest sibling in families tend to take on a parental role for the younger siblings. It is an interesting dichotomy of these children being children themselves but simultaneously parenting their younger brothers and sisters. Collins' brother is 10 years younger than her, they're best friends, and she's often assumed a maternal role over him. 

The piece is reminiscent of her relationship with her brother, though it is not literally the two of them. 

Collins was suprised by the news of her piece being selected to go in the Met. From freshman to senior year, she entered the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, a more than 100-year-old competition that works to inspire and support artistic teens around the nation. Students can submit various pieces of art and literature to be evaluated and judged by experienced creatives in the visual and literary arts, receiving regional and national awards.

It was surreal. I thought to myself okay, I'm at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and my art happens to be here"

Ava Collins, UC architectural engineering student

Ava Collins poses with her painting in the Met

Ava Collins and her family traveled to New York to see her painting in the Met. Photo/Provided

In her junior year, Collins received a regional gold medal for one of her pieces. During her senior year, her piece was selected as one of the few to be displayed at the Met — though she didn't find out right away. It wasn't until the middle of the summer after graduation, that she checked her email and discovered the news. Her art teacher had also missed the announcement, and they were both shocked and excited by the recognition. 

Collins took a trip to New York with her family to see her painting displayed. 

"It was different, it was surreal. I thought to myself okay, I'm at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and my art happens to be here," she said. 

When she was taking photos in front of her piece, passing museum goers asked if the work was hers, congratulating her as they went by. For Collins, the acknowledgement from strangers meant a lot to her, as it was a level of recognition she had not received before. Traveling to New York with her grandparents and seeing her piece displayed was a moment that will leave a lasting impact on her. 

With such a deep passion for art, architectural engineering allows her to use her skillset in a new way through drawings of floor plans, site plans, and more. Collins plans to pursue the Accelerated Engineering Degree (ACCEND) program, earning her master's degree alongside her bachelor's degree. She intends to become a licensed architect and stamp her own drawings in the future. 

With her degree, she wants to work on the renovation of neighborhoods that don't get a lot of attention, that are located in places that may not have the resources necessary to improve buildings on their own. 

"I want to help kids want to go to school. For me, I always loved when there was new art on the wall. I think the look of where you're going impacts how you feel about being there," Collins said. 

On campus, Collins is part of the Black Arts Collaborative, in the music department, part of the African American Resource and Cultural Center choir, and a member of Brothers and Sisters Excelling. In the classroom, she is an up-and-coming engineer and utilizes her extracurricular as a creative outlet. 

Featured image at top: University of Cincinnati architectural engineering student Ava Collins' painting is displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo/Provided

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