McCarthy Presents Awards to Winners of Congressional Art Competition | Representative Kevin McCarthy
Scenic photo of mountains in the district

McCarthy Presents Awards to Winners of Congressional Art Competition

May 7, 2010
Press Release

Bakersfield, CA – Today, Congressman Kevin McCarthy honored participants and winners of the 29th Annual "An Artistic Discovery" Congressional Art Competition for high school students at a reception at Metro Galleries, in conjunction with "First Friday."

"I am always impressed with the talents of the young artists in our district, and it's amazing to see their creativity at work." McCarthy said.

The overall winner is Sona Shah, who is a junior at Stockdale High School in Bakersfield. Under the direction of her art teacher, Art Sherwyn, Sona created her piece, "Playing Art" using pastels and charcoal featuring six different children working on art pieces outdoors. Sona said that her piece was created to represent unity with the kids in black and white and their art pieces in color.

Sona will be attending the exhibit opening of "An Artistic Discovery" in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, June 17, 2010, with her parents, Dr. and Mrs. Nilesh Shah. Her artwork will be displayed in the corridor leading to the U.S. Capitol for a period of one year. As the overall winner, she will also receive three round-trip tickets to the exhibit opening, as well as a cash award to be presented at the district reception.

Awards were also presented to those students who placed First, Second, Third and received Honorable Mention in the following three categories: Photography, Computer Generated Art, and All Other Mediums. In addition, all winners will have the option of displaying their artwork in the Congressman's Washington office for one year.

Below are listed all other winners:

All Other Mediums

  • 1st Place- Heather Grossbard, Frontier High School, "Out on the Street"
  • 2nd Place- Chelsea Lightfoot, Paso Robles High School, "Danger Zone"
  • 3rd Place- Ashlee Sherman, Bakersfield High School, "Untitled"
  • Honorable Mention- Constance Hoarau, Stockdale High School, "On the road"

Photography

  • 1st Place- Kelsea Holder, Atascadero High School, "A Little Perfection"
  • 2nd Place- Marielle Chua, Frontier High School, "Through Her Eyes"
  • 3rd Place- Mitchell Stevenson, Atascadero High School, "Windmill"
  • Honorable Mention- Marielle Chua, Frontier High School, "Right Here"

Computer Generated Art

  • 1st Place- Larry Rodriguez, West High School, "The lime'st light lies"
  • 2nd Place- Mavee Palomique, Independence High School, "Mavee"
  • 3d Place- Miguel Labrada, Independence High School, "Earth, Water, Grass and Sky"
  • Honorable Mention- Jesse Starks, Independence High School, "Self Portrait"

Congressman McCarthy received 105 entries from 14 schools in the 22nd Congressional District this year, which includes part of Kern, San Luis Obispo, and Los Angeles Counties.