Las Vegas, NV -
February 02, 2016More than 2,600 Clark
County kindergarten through fifth grade students representing 18 schools
submitted artwork to the Nevada Housing Division’s 19th annual Where
I Live art contest. The Clark County School District students were encouraged
to depict and submit works representing where they currently live, or a place
they would like to call home.
The contest allows
students a creative outlet to express the sentiment of what home means to them,
or what they want it to mean. Former student artist and 2000 Where I Live
contest award winner Georgina Castro explains, “Art is a form of expression.
When we’re young, I feel that we are at our most creative. We can imagine
things and not be jaded by the reality of them. We can be as expressive as we
want and the sky’s the limit.”
What started as a fun art
assignment transformed into an unexpected surprise when her artwork was
selected as one of the winning submissions. “The next thing I know I’m
attending a reception at an elegant location for something that I had drawn for
fun. Our art teacher never put limits on what we were drawing, painting or
sketching. If our sky was gold and our trees were orange it was perfectly fine
and I thank her for that because to me that’s the beauty of art,” said
Castro.
The 2,600 submitted works
for this year’s contest were juried to 220 pieces by a panel comprised of
Nevada Housing Division staff and exhibition sponsors. These pieces were put on
display at the “Where I Live” Exhibition and Awards Program held in the Delfino
Ballroom at The Venetian on December 17 where a group of more than 800
students, teachers, family members, sponsors and community partners were
gathered.
During the awards
program, first, second and third place ribbons, and 10 honorable mention
certificates were presented. These 13 winners will have their artwork
featured in the 2016 Where I Live calendar distributed by the Nevada Housing
Division. The calendar’s cover will feature the first place winner’s
artwork with one of the 12 remaining drawings featured each
month.
The winners of this
year’s Where I Live art contest are:
·
Natalie Hubert, Sheila Tarr Elementary- 5th
grade, first place
·
Calissa Snyder Cox, Dean Allen Elementary-
5th grade, second place
·
Olivia Bennett, Dean Allen Elementary- 1st
grade, third place
Honorable mentions:
Pablito Raul Gepana, Tomiyasu Elementary- 5th grade; Ethan Mercer,
Selma Bartlett Elementary- 4th grade; Kallen Forrest, Selma Bartlett
Elementary- 4th grade; Cameryn Sligar, Dean Allen Elementary-
kindergarten; Emily Dosch, Dean Allen Elementary- kindergarten; Jaymie Jaster,
Dean Allen Elementary- 3rd grade; Lauryn Brenner, Dean Allen
Elementary- 2nd grade; Jessica Brocksome, Berkeley L. Bunker
Elementary- 4th grade; Ethan Hong, Doral Academy- 1st
grade; Katie Spinogatti, Doral Academy- 2nd grade.
The contest, exhibition
and awards were made possible with the support of a number of community
partners and sponsors including: Sands Cares Foundation, Blick Art Materials,
One Nevada Credit Union, Nevada HAND Property Management, Design One Printing,
SDA Inc., George Gekakis, Inc., Southwest Gas, Triumph Property Management,
NVHousingSearch.org, Clark County School District and Nevada Housing
Division.
The 13 winner’s original
drawings will be on display at the Spring Valley Library Art Gallery from
February 11 through March 29. The pieces will then be displayed in the
Nevada Housing Division’s Las Vegas office.
About
the Nevada Housing Division
The Nevada Housing Division was created by the Nevada Legislature in
1975, when it was recognized that a shortage of safe, decent, and sanitary
housing existed throughout the State for low- and moderate-income Nevadans.
Their mission is to improve quality of life by providing affordable housing
opportunities. For more information visit www.housing.nv.gov.