VisArts Hosts Congressional Arts Competition

U.S. Rep. Christopher Van Hollen Jr. and professional artists from Montgomery County stressed the importance of art to young people and to the community as VisArts at Rockville hosted a reception and awards ceremony for the 8th Congressional District Art Competition for High School Students on Monday evening.

Van Hollen (D-Dist. 8) of Kensington handed out certificates of participation and award letters to participating young artists.

"Having arts as part of the curriculum in our schools is essential. We can measure the dynamism of a community by the vibrancy of the arts in that community," Van Hollen said during the ceremony, in which he thanked teachers and parents for encouraging students to participate in the arts and students for taking the initiative to bring their creative talents to the table. 

"I plan to continue to support a national investment in the National Endowment for the Arts," he said.

Linda Pepper, the competition's coordinator, served as master of ceremonies during the awards reception and profusely thanked teachers for investing time in the artistic development of their students.

"Artistic expression is elemental," she said.

The annual Congressional Art Competition, a juried competition that is open to all high school students within the 8th Congressional District. Through similar annual competitions nationally, each Congressional district selects the artwork of a high school student to be displayed in the Cannon Tunnel in the U.S. Capitol for one year.

Poolesville High School's Jee-Won Park took first place with her digital media portrait titled "Justin."

Runners up in the competition include: John Donelan (Landon School), Constantine Apergis (Northwest High School), Dan Liu (Richard Montgomery High School), Daniel Chou (Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School), Alexander Zohore (Winston Churchill High School) and Michael Anderson (Landon School).

Runners-up will have their work displayed in Van Hollen's three different congressional offices of for the duration of one year.

Honorable Mentions in the competition include: Mary Beth Nalls (Academy of the Holy Cross), Arleigh Banner (Winston Churchill High School), Adedoyin Okusaga Jr. (Northwest High School), Carleton Chambers (Wheaton High School), Keith Tate III (Springbrook High School) and Monica Azhdam (MJB Hebrew Academy).

The jurors also gave out two special awards: The Rockville Rising Star Award and The Singular Vision or Unique Use of Materials Award to Daniel Diaz-Etchevehere (Walt Whitman High School) and Jack Chen (Thomas S. Wooton High School), respectively. The former is an award for greatest potential for future success, and the latter commemorates late state Del. Jane E. Lawton and her individuality, vitality and appreciation for the arts.

Elyse Harrison was one of three jurors to judge the entries. Creativity has to come first, said the Bethesda-based painter who recently launched Gallery and Studio Neptune in downtown Bethesda's PeriPoint Building.

"The world needs creative people," said Harrison, who paints narrative-style and surrealistic paintings.

"Art is about inspiring people, and when you come to an event like this, inspiration sets in," said Eric Oberg, another juror, who is a professional commercial photographer and also works as a part-time instructor at the Washington School of Photography in Bethesda.

The third juror was Millie Shott, the Curator of Exhibits at the Friendship Heights Village Center in Chevy Chase.

The juried show, "An Artistic Discovery," featured the work of students from 25 different high schools, including:

• Academy of the Holy Cross
• Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
• The Bullis School
• Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School
• Connelly School of the Holy Child
• Holton Arms School
• James H. Blake High School
• The Katherine Thomas School
• Landon School
• Maret School
• McLean School of Maryland
• Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy
• Montgomery Blair High School
• Northwest High School
• Poolesville High School
• Quince Orchard High School
• Richard Montgomery High School
• The Siena School
• Springbrook High School
• Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart
• Thomas S. Wooton High School
• Walt Whitman High School
• Watkins Mill High School
• Wheaton High School
• Winston Churchill High School

Art from the competition will be on display at through May 4.

Correction: This article has been revised. The original version gave an incorrect date for the awards ceremony. This version changes the first paragraph to reflect that the ceremony occurred on Monday, April 11.