[As seen in the Midweek West Oahu Islander, Feburary 14, 2007 edition, Page 8]
Aiea Students Excel In Scholastic Art Contest
More than 80 winning artworks by student artists --including students at West Oahu schools-- are on display downtown through March 24 as part of the 44th annual Hawaii Region of the Scholastic Art awards.
The field was whittled down from more than 800 submissions statewide from public and private school students in grades 7 to 12.
"It's a high honor" to win a spot in the exhibit, said Roy Chang, an Aiea Intermediate School art teacher and MidWeek editorial cartoonist. "Many times as seniors they can enter and win scholarships when they do portfolio entries," he said, adding that entries have expanded into computer art, digital photography, printmaking, film and video.
"There's a nice collection of traditional arts as well as the cutting-edge 21st century type of art, too," he said of the second-floor exhibit at 1132 Bishop St. (the reddish-brown high-rise between Union Mall and Fort Street Mall). Hours are 6:30am to 6:30pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 2pm Saturday.
Four of Chang's eighth-grade students won a place in the exhibit, equalling last year's represenation. They are: gold-key awardee Keilee Rivera for her Tarnished in Revenge sculpture, and silver-key winners John Mark Cajalne for his clay sculpture The Centaur, Thuy Ny Le for her colored-pencil work Figure of a Woman Dominating Men, and Shanda Delos Reyes for her clay sculpture, Sumasayw, of a ballet dancer.
Twelve professional jurors selected silver and gold key finalists and five American Vision Award nominees, equivalent of the best-in-show, in catagories of photography, 2D (drawing, painting, printmaking) and 3D (ceramics, sculpture, glass).
The best-in-show nominees and gold-key finalists will compete in the nationals in March, with the nation's best invited to the awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York.
"Every year we're getting more and more into the national competition," said Alison Ibara Kawabe, event co-chair and a state Department of Education art education specialist. In the three years she's helped to organize the event, Hawaii's numbers have increased to about 24 national winners from 15, she said.
Meanwhile, state Sen. David Ige offers another public forum for art be elementary to high schoolers in his Aiea and Pearl City district. Art by pre-kindergartners also has made an appearance in the 10-year-old Capitol Artist Program. The free display occurs both in Ige's Capitol office, Room 215, and in the basement-level Senate chambers. The current display features artwork from Aiea Intermediate and Aiea High schools.
Ige "feels it's a great way to get in touch with the schools and really promote the artwork...in a public place to give more opportunities for people to see what kids from our district can do," said Audra Furuichi, a legislative aide. To view current and past art of the last three years, visit DavidIge.org and click on "gallery"
-Lisa Asato