University of North Texas 
UNT CVAD Hosts 2025-26 Voertman Student Art Competition, Exhibition and Marka27 Exhibition
The UNT College of Visual Arts and Design presents the 2025-26 Paul Voertman Student
Art Competition, juried by internationally recognized artist Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez.
Voertman Student Art Competition & Exhibition
Juried by Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez
A time-honored tradition at the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design, the Voertman
Student Art Competition and Exhibition was established in 1960 by Paul Voertman, arts aficionado, founder of Voertman’s store and philanthropist. Juried annually
by an accomplished arts professional, the competition offers students real-world exhibition
experience and professional recognition. Since its founding, thousands of emerging
artists have exhibited their work, with hundreds receiving awards.
Competition and Exhibition
This exhibition presents selected student work from the 2025-26 Voertman Student Art Competition, juried by Marka27.
Feb. 4–28, 2026
Cora Stafford Gallery, UNT Art Building
Award Ceremony and Exhibition Reception
Feb. 5, 5–7 p.m.
Award presentations begin at 5:15 p.m.
Competition Juror: Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez
Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez is an internationally recognized visual artist whose work
intersects contemporary art, graffiti, vinyl toys, fashion design and art activism.
His practice spans painting, muralism, drawing, mixed media and large-scale public
art. Marka27’s signature “Neo Indigenous” style fuses street and pop culture with
Mexican and Indigenous aesthetics, centering narratives of empowerment, representation
and cultural identity.
Quiñonez’s work includes paintings, murals, drawings, mixed-media pieces and private
commissions for major brands. His bold palette blends street and pop-culture references
with Mexican and Indigenous aesthetics, a style he has termed “Neo Indigenous.” The
approach revives traditional forms by making them new, fusing contemporary graffiti
with imagery inspired by the “tres grandes” of the Mexican mural movement: Diego Rivera,
José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. His work is rooted in the empowerment
of marginalized communities and the ongoing fight for representation.
Marka27 has exhibited globally and collaborated with major brands while creating landmark
public art across the U.S. He is a Frieze Los Angeles Impact Prize winner (2025) and
a Right of Return and Art for Justice Fellow (2023, 2024).