As we launch this year’s “It Starts With the Arts” Campaign, the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable is thrilled to announce the selected artists from our citywide visual art competition to recognize and celebrate the talent of New York City students.
All entries were inspired by the title “It Starts With the Arts”. We received nearly 100 pieces of art from students across the City in a variety of mediums: photography, sculpture, digital art, and more! Winning artists were selected by members of the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable’s Advocacy Committee made up of educators, teaching artists, and cultural workers.
Winners for this competition have had their artwork printed on “It Starts With the Arts” campaign materials and will be featured in our social media toolkit (stay tuned for more!). Interested in having these postcards at your workplace or sharing with your community? Fill out this Google Form to request postcards and help us tell our city leaders to prioritize arts education in our city budget.
Scroll down to meet our four winners and five runners up for this year’s “It Starts With the Arts” Student Art Competition and learn more about the creation and inspiration behind their pieces.
Winners
Blossoming Bonds
By Angelina L., Manhattan, Age 14
To me, connection starts with the arts. Students should have access to art education because it is an important form of connection. Art has the ability to empower and communicate, whether it is through dance, music, art, writing, or more— like how this digital painting illustrates a story of communication between me and my mom. Students are the future and they all should be given the tools to build a more united world!
This artwork was inspired by a subway ride home with my mom. The ride was dull, so I pulled out paper and asked if she wanted to draw flowers with me. By the time we arrived at our stop, we drew a page full of blossoms. She drew orchids and I drew water lilies. My mom is a caretaker for my grandmother, and she always checks to see if the orchids are on sale when she shops for her. Hearing about that gesture made me realize the love and care she puts into her familial relationships. When she asked me why I drew water lilies, I told her about the time she took me to the botanical gardens when I was 7 to see the most beautiful lilies I’d ever seen. I decided that day that I was going to name my future child “Lily” or “Lillian.” That experience showed me how art could unite. My mom is a first generation immigrant while I was born in the US, so I didn’t think she would understand my struggles as a middle schooler here. Hearing about her relationship with my grandma and us talking about our trip to the gardens was an insight into each other’s lives that brought us together. It was the beginning of new understandings of each other, and now I can say that my mom and I are very close! My digital painting illustrates that story of communication with my mom. Connection starts with the arts.
Generational Love
By Beatrice B., Queens, Age 17
I think all students should have access to arts education because it fosters creativity and it is an important form of self-expression that builds a well-rounded education. For me, this artwork serves as a reminder of the love, wisdom, and cultural heritage the arts have passed down through generations.
The central focus is a delicate pastel and colored pencil rendering of me as a baby, reaching out to touch the wrinkled cheeks of my grandmother. Layered beneath the portrait is a collage of Vietnamese fabrics and newsprint, meticulously arranged to form a background that tells the story of our shared heritage that has lasted through generations. The distressed edges of the cardboard represent the frayed edges of memories. The blend of soft pastels, colored pencil, distressed cardboard, and Vietnamese materials creates a harmonious fusion of visual and tactile elements.
The Classroom Circus
By Ian V., Queens, Age 13
This work is inspired by my own artistic journey, and how I’ve learned to hone in my skills. Children and teenagers have creative minds that we often are not able to foster due to societal pressures, which more often than not leaves us at best bored, and at worst lost. Art gives us the means to keep that inspiration alive. By teaching kids the fundamentals of art and what it means to be an artist, we are given the tools to tell our own stories that can impact our world.
The composition is meant to emulate a feeling of forever turning, my past inspiration in a classroom filled with artists as passionate as I was fueling my new piece, and the pieces after it. It also tells the story of how I utilize the skills I’ve learned, not only through making art but telling stories, first drawing a friend, then connecting dots to form a story, then building a world for that story. It also marks my growth, as the shifting from bottom to top resembles my own journey of understanding my identity, as a trans nonbinary youth.
Untitled Artwork by Sophia
By Sophia V., Brooklyn, Age 7
I drew myself looking at paintings at the museum. I love art. I think all students should have access to arts in education because without it I wouldn’t be able to draw or color.
Runners Up
How Far We’ve Come
By Mayvellin Y., Brooklyn, Age 14
Arts education is important because it allows students to express their feelings and creativity. Taking art classes can lead to better social skills as well as emotional regulation. Access to arts education also allows for one to explore different passions and many other possible careers.
I imagined a woman painting herself when she was a child drawing. She loved drawing since she was a kid, and as an adult, she gets to tell stories with her art. I’ve loved drawing since I was a kid, and even though I don’t want to be a painter, I would love to pursue something artistic. I’ve been interested in creating designs for characters as well as interior design. For the drawing, I pushed myself out of my comfort zone. I used many references to get the texture and shading as accurately as I could.
Imaginary Friend
By Crystal C., Queens, Age 17
Art helps students express themselves in ways that may not be possible through other subjects. Having access to arts education allows students to further develop their own emotions and enhance empathy and the ability to connect with the emotions of peers.
This artwork was inspired by children’s imagination and how vivid it is. The intent was to capture the creativity of a child’s mind and how that can affect their art, by including a figure created with a fusion of reality and imagination.
It Starts With Inspiration
By Heaven B., Manhattan, Age 16
I think all students should have access to arts education because everybody needs to be introduced to different ways to express their imagination.
The artwork I made represents the little me and me now. When I was 3-years-old, my mom taught me how to write my name. From then on, I made so much art- from playdough, to digital, to physical. When I was 9 years old, my mother died and I had felt numb ever since. It was as if my emotions and art died with her. Once, my aunt took me to MoMA and I saw this beautiful painting called Starry Night. When I saw it, it sparked my imagination and I wanted to paint, draw, and act. I found that art was my coping mechanism and my gift from God. I poured everything into my art and ever since then my dream was to study art in school. When I finally found a school that had arts education, I learned to reach into my imagination to create my best work.
Mirror Reflection
By Chloe Z., Manhattan, Age 16
I think all students should have access to arts education because it gives them a place to explore new ideas, have a sense of freedom and be a part of a supportive community.
While being in a classroom of 6-7 year olds, I was inspired by seeing the kids collage and draw abstract scribbles. I realized there that art means freedom and expression. Coincidentally, my art teacher in school taught us how to make our own collage materials from scratch. I am always excited to go to my art class because it is a space to be free and explore new things, new materials and ways I can create. Art has translated to mental health for me.
Untitled Artwork by Nelli
By Nelli R., Brooklyn, Age 18
I think all students should have access to arts education because every student deserves the freedom to express their creativity. We are often taught to think in a correct or not correct way, but art lets students know that it’s okay to be out of the box, to be different, and to be themselves. It’s what makes us human.
This piece is meant to balance abstraction and realism to represent the equal importance and complementary nature of the arts and STEM in education. I used chalk pastels on toned paper to make the colors brighter. For the fine details, I used my fingers and a paintbrush to carefully control the chalk pigment.
