Photos of 38 South Texas foster children seeking permanent adoptive families will be on display at the sixth annual “Heart Gallery of South Texas” opening reception on Wednesday, Nov. 10, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Antonio E. Garcia Arts & Education Center, 2021 Agnes St., Corpus Christi. The reception is free and open to the public.

The exhibit, which will be on display through Friday, Dec. 31, highlights children who are considered more challenging to place because of their age or because they are part of a sibling group. The community is invited to view the framed 12-by-16-inch photos and learn about the children through brief introspective biographies. Prospective families can learn more by contacting foster adoptive recruiter Doug Williams at 361-878-3560.

Photos were taken by Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi undergraduate students Oscar Guerra, Martha Esquivel, and Sacha Brown, photography professor Barbra Riley and other volunteer photographers. Jessica Block, a university graduate student, created this year’s Heart Gallery of South Texas logo.

The exhibition, which coincides with National Adoption Month, is a collaborative project between the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Region 11, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s College of Education and Photography Department.

The Heart Gallery exhibit was founded by the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department in 2001 to call attention to foster children in protective custody, who are awaiting adoptive families. Participating child placement agencies include A World for Children, Spaulding for Children and Pathway Youth and Family Services.

For more information, call Rose Banda at 361-878-3491.