Homewood-Flossmoor High School Takes Top Three Honors In “An Artistic Discovery 2008”
April 29, 2008
Jeremy Wright, a senior at Homewood-Flossmoor High School, won First Place in “An Artistic Discovery 2008.” Thirty-four students participated in Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.’s annual high school art competition, which was held at Prairie State College’s Christopher Art Gallery on Saturday, April 26th.
Jeremy’s thought-provoking “Broken Down” will be displayed at the U.S. Capitol for one year, after an unveiling at a Capitol Hill ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 25th. As part of the grand prize, Jeremy won a trip for two to Washington for the ceremony.
Winner Jeremy Wright poses with (from left) competition judge Glenn Murray, Congressman Jackson, Prairie State College Interim President David Brownell, competition judge Grant White. Competition judge Ra Joy is behind Jeremy.
All of the winners will receive a free art class, and the 2nd through 4th place winners also received gift cards. The other winners were:
- Second Place: Ginta Sutkus, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, “The Resplendent Quetzal”
2nd Place winner Ginta Sutkus could not attend, so she sent her father to represent her. He also had some place to go, but fortunately he stayed and was happy to accept Ginta’s award along with one of her teachers, Jaclyn Wargo.
- Third Place: Carolyn Hartmann, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, “Self Portrait”
Carolyn Hartmann strikes a pose next to her striking colored pencil piece, which won 3rd Place.
- Fourth Place: Morgan Forrest, Bremen High School, “Sloth”
4th Place winner Morgan Forrest, who also won one of last year's top prizes, shares a laugh with Congressman Jackson and his children, Jessica and Jesse III.
Congressman Jackson said, “The people of the Second Congressional District can be proud of this year’s young artists not just because they’re talented, but because they challenged themselves by entering the competition. Their work and participation continue to be inspiring.”
“An Artistic Discovery 2008” featured a special presentation by visual and performance artist Damon Lamar Reed, who used his artwork as his backdrop. Reed lives in the Second Congressional District, but won “An Artistic Discovery” in his home state of Arizona a dozen years ago.
“An Artistic Discovery 2008” also featured the first presentation of ribbons of Artistic Excellence. Those were awarded to:
- Dominique Gest, Hillcrest High School, “Self-Portrait”
- Rachel Mayer, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, “Let’s Boogie”
- Camille Scott, Hillcrest High School, “Bad Day”
- Mackenzie Szymanski, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, “Hours To Sleep”
- Cristal Tucker, Oak Forest High School, “Milky Wayy”
Every student artist received a certificate of participation, teachers received gift certificates, and all students and teachers had the opportunity to win door prizes.
Before the awards ceremony, PSC Interim President Brownell discussed the art work with one of the student competitors and a visitor.
Judges for this year’s competition were:
- Mr. Ra Joy, Executive Director, Illinois Arts Alliance
- Mr. Glenn Murray, Founder, Kreations Art (an online gallery for independent artists)
- Ms. Shirley Sullivan, Professional Fine Artist
- Mr. Grant White, Sculptor and Board of Directors, Tall Grass Arts Association
More on Artistic Discovery
- How to participate in the next Artistic Discovery contest
- 2008 Artistic Discovery winners
- 2007 Artistic Discovery winners
- 2006 Artistic Discovery winners
- 2005 Artistic Discovery winners
