On January 23, the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara honored the 25 winners of its annual Art Scholarship Competition. The event was held at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, where the students work remained on display for a few days.
For the competition, 70 South County high school seniors each submitted four pieces of artwork, which were judged by a distinguished panel from the Santa Barbara art world: Anthony Askew, Ginny Brush, and Patti Jacquemain. The judges selected 25 winners and chose one piece from each to be part of the curated exhibition. Winners received a $2,500 scholarship from a designated fund and the Best of Show winner got an additional $1,000 from the Schall family.
During the reception, the winners stood beside their artwork to greet the 125 guests and discuss their art. Students and other guests were equally excited, lending a jubilant feeling to the event. During the program in the auditorium, Scholarship Foundation Board Chair Christie Glanville shared how this is one of her favorite events because of the “students’ thoughtful and skillful expression of their ideas, feelings, hopes, and dreams.” She commented on how Albert Einstein’s saying that “Creativity is intelligence having fun,” rings true in the students’ works.
Art Museum Director of Education Patsy Hicks praised the student artists for having followed conceptual artist John Baldessari’s advice to “learn to dream,” and she reflected on the resonance and wonder that results from this. The students were briefly introduced and they each thanked those who had inspired, taught, and supported them.
Evan Sherman, a senior at Santa Barbara High School’s Visual Arts and Design Academy (VADA), was awarded the Best of Show. He hopes to attend the Rhode Island School of Design and paint professionally. Sherman explained that his piece was inspired by the 1969 oil spill and he sought to both discuss the environmental impact of offshore drilling and celebrate the changes the community has made in response to the disaster. For more about Sherman, go to http://www.evanjaysherman.com.
The other winners this year are: Aidan Barcia-Bacon, Nicole Borden, Kristopher Boris, Charlie Buckingham, Autumn Coulter, Zach Dinklage, Emmanuel Flores Garcia, Amelie Funk, Emma Gobbell, Hunter Gomersall, Magdaline Rose Gooch, Jacob Grossi, Henry Haber, Kylee Heather, Chloe Herdrich, Owen Keithley, Grace Lewis, Angel Uriel Mateo, Andrew Mazlumyan, Teagan Moehlis, Maleeha Mustafa, Veronica Sanchez, Morgan Thornley, and Madison Young. Six schools were represented, with 12 students hailing from Santa Barbara High School, home to the Visual Arts and Design Academy.
The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara is the nation’s largest community-based provider of college scholarships, having cumulatively awarded in excess of $123 million to more than 50,000 county students since its founding in 1962. It also provides free financial aid advising services. For more info, go to http://sbscholarship.org.
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