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SCI STUDENT YOUNG ARTISTS SHOWCASE WINNERS ANNOUNCED

           The winners of the 2008 Sister Cities International Young Artists Showcase have been announced by Donna Casparian, president of the Hot Springs National Park Sister City Foundation.  All of the contest entries will be displayed at the Fine Arts Center of Hot Springs, 610-A Central Avenue, across from Hill Wheatley Plaza, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, April 4 during the monthly Gallery Walk in downtown Hot Springs.
            Entries were sought from high school students in Hot Springs and in Hanamaki, Japan, Hot Springs’ sister city.  The first-place winning entry from each city will be sent on to Kansas City, Missouri to be on display and undergo national competition during Sister Cities International’s annual conference.
The winning entries from Hot Springs include:

1st Place: Charlie Mattei, Fountain Lake High School
"Under the Fordyce Canopy"
Artist’s comments:  "The piece was created to reflect some of the best aspects of my community, Hot Springs. The original photograph was taken at the front of the Fordyce Bath House with a young man taking in the view of downtown Central Avenue. The Mountain Tower represents our awe-inspiring National Park setting. The horse and jockey going down the street were added because Oaklawn is one of our biggest draws to tourists. The guitar was placed to showcase our amazing and diverse music and art scene. Hot Springs has so many remarkable aspects, and only a few could be shown in this piece."

2nd Place
Courtney Balliette, Lakeside High School
"Memory Lane"

3rd Place
Barret Richardson, Lakeside High School
"Empty Sidewalks"

Honorable Mention:
Ben Crumpton, Lakeside High School
"Through the Hands of the City"

The winning entries from Hanamaki include:

1st Place: Takae Fujiwara, Ohasama Junior High School
"A Reflection of Ohasama"
Artist’s comments:  "Speaking of my community, Ohasama, I have to say about the Andon Lantern Festival. This festival is held for two days every August and it attracts many people across the country. Each of four festival floats is different from one another and the tourists enjoy them. It was a little difficult for me to express the light and the brightness of the lanterns when I drew this work but I hope it will give you lively and happy atmosphere of the festival if only a little. I depicted the patterns of the lanterns elaborately."

2nd Place: Kazue Hiraka, Hanamaki Higashi High School
"A Reflection of Hanamaki"

3rd Place: Keitaro Sugawara, Kenta Kotera, Ryoma Kawamra, Takuto Dekhara, and Rychei Takita (group work), Hanamaki Junior High School
"Japan's Festival, the Nebuta Festival in Aomori"

First place winners were chosen for originality, composition, and interpretation of the theme of the contest. This year’s theme, “A Reflection of Your Community,” celebrates the uniqueness of cities, towns, and communities throughout the world.
“The 2008 Young Artists Showcase is an opportunity to share a vision of Hot Springs and its young people with our sister city in Hanamaki, Japan and the members of Sister Cities International,” Casparian said.  “It also gives Hanamaki students a way to communicate what they feel is important about their community.  We are very pleased and excited about this year’s response from both cities.”

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