Nine teenage artists, including students from George Washington High and Nitro High schools, have been selected as the 2021 winners in the annual Congressional Art Competition.
The competition works are on display in the Balcony Gallery of the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston, through Monday, June 7.
The exhibition is sponsored by the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, in partnership with the West Virginia Congressional Delegation.
WVDACH Curator Randall Reid-Smith and Charles Morris, director of museums, welcomed guests and introduced Susie Azevedo and Madison Neeley, representing Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.Va.), and Darian Gist, representing Rep. Carol Miller (R-W.Va.), to the exhibition on May 3.
First-place awards were presented to Emma Carpenter, George Washington High School; Bryce Johnson, Robert C. Byrd High School; and Gracie Hines, Webster County High School. The first-place winners received a $100 gift certificate from Blick Art Materials, and their work will represent West Virginia in a year-long Congressional Art Competition exhibition at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
An additional six second- and third-place winners received awards: second-place winners Kyrstin Makayla Showalter, Nitro High School; Karissa Quillen, Parkersburg High School; Emily Carothers, Meadow Bridge High School; Jadeah Lownsburg, Robert C. Byrd High School; and third-place winners Heidi Mundy, George Washington High School; and Riley Roberts, Meadow Bridge High School. The second- and third-place winners each received a $50 gift certificate from Blick Art Materials.
The Congressional Art Exhibition consists of 112 pieces by 88 students in grades seven through 12 from 12 West Virginia counties. Kanawha County student artists whose work was submitted for the exhibition include:
Charleston Catholic High School
Art teacher: Avrah Leven
• Emma N. Tolliver Duffer (Grade 10), “Persephone’s Pomegranate,” acrylic on canvas
George Washington High School
Art teacher: Christy Pennington
• Heidi Mundy (Grade 10), “Tropical Fish,” colored pencil, and “Skull,” pencil
• Samara Chamberlain (Grade 11), “Where the Doctors Are,” digital art
• Lauren Arnett (Grade 11), “Map Gazing,” watercolor and oil pastel, and “Dome and Blue,” watercolor and pen and ink
Caroline Castle (Grade 11), “Timeless Together,” colored pencil and oil pastel, and “Weight of Beauty,” watercolor and ink
• Jacey Crisp (Grade 10), “A Mouse in a Meadow,” watercolor
• Iva Reed (Grade 10), “Losing Time,” colored pencil and watercolor, and “The Innocence Killer,” watercolor and pen and ink
• Karlie King (Grade 10), “Barry the Rat,” graphite, and “The Serenity of Silence,” graphite
• Emma Carpenter (Grade 11), “Leading West Virginia Forward,” graphite
• Audrey Shamblen (Grade 10), “Musicality,” pen and pencil, and “Breath,” oil pastel
Ava C. Dean (Grade 10), “Amidst the Flowers,” mixed media
• Aillea Elkins (Grade 11), “Birds of a Feather,” graphite, and “Stick Together,” graphite
• Emma Lauren Walker (Grade 11), “The Bowl from Chinatown,” colored pencil, and “Otter Nap on a Lazy Sunday,” graphite
• Akasha Brown (Grade 12), “Sweet Lolita,” colored pencil and charcoal, and “Girl Braiding Hair,” colored pencil and marker
• Rohen Jones (Grade 10), “Recognize,” ink and acrylic, and “Vendor,” gold leaf and ink
Nitro High School
Art teacher: Danielle Hunt
• Delaney Corlis (Grade 11), “The Killer Doesn’t Understand,” acrylic and ink, and “Heart-Shaped Box,” acrylic
• Kyrstin Makayla Showalter (Grade 11), “Blinding Lights,” ink, and “Adventure,” paper and acrylic paint
• Delaney Coyner (Grade 9), “Watermelon,” oil pastel
• Keandre Williams (Grade 11), “Untitled,” geli-print plate with mixed media
• Taylor Maddox (Grade 10), “Untitled,” geli-print with linoleum block
• Adrianna Hager (Grade 11), “Motel,” acrylic
• Addisyn N. Miller (Grade 9), “The Guidelines,” mechanical pencil and Faber-Castell artist pens
Jaelyn Perry (Grade 11), “Untitled #3,” geli-plate with collagraph, and “Rainbow Portrait,” oil pastel
• Audrey Moles (Grade 10), “Morph,” book pages and watercolor
• Calabria Simmons (Grade 12), “Armageddon,” watercolor, and “Stratified Layers,” mixed media
South Charleston High School
Art teacher: Donna Wood
• Alexis Hicks (Grade 12), “Family,” graphite
Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual-art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each Congressional district. Since the competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated. The competition is sponsored by members of Congress.