United States Rep. Ed Case, D-Neighbor Islands-rural O‘ahu, announced in a press release that Kapa‘a High School students nearly swept all five Kaua‘i slots in the annual congressional art contest. Warriors Christine Morales, Tiana Amo, Cava-Lei Wilson and Mercedes Johnson,
United States Rep. Ed Case, D-Neighbor Islands-rural O‘ahu, announced in a press release that Kapa‘a High School students nearly swept all five Kaua‘i slots in the annual congressional art contest.
Warriors Christine Morales, Tiana Amo, Cava-Lei Wilson and Mercedes Johnson, and Island School’s Nicholas Seymour, were named the five island finalists, and are eligible for the grand prize of a round trip for two to Washington, D.C.
Morales took first place, for “Evolutions of an Average Teenage Girl,” with Amo in second place with “Japanese Garden.” Wilson’s piece, “Kona-Kai,” placed third, with Johnson’s “Peaceful Nature” in fourth. Seymour’s untitled piece ended fifth.
Case’s contest, Kaha Ki‘i: An Artistic Discovery, is part of a nationwide search for the best student art from congressional districts across the country that will be unveiled by the Congressional Arts Caucus in Washington, D.C. on June 28, in the U.S. Capitol.
“The Congressional Arts Caucus created the contest in 1982 to promote the arts across the country, and this competition has certainly accomplished that goal by attracting outstanding and imaginative artwork from our high-school students using media ranging from oil paintings to computer-generated illustrations,” Case said.
“And it’s always exciting to see each year’s overall winning piece on display in the U.S. Capitol, a honor that goes with the grand prize of a trip for the winning student and his or her art teacher to Washington, D.C.,” Case added.
The competition is made possible, in part, by donations from The Estate of James Campbell, Aloha Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Hilton Hawaiian Village, Garden Island Rentals/Charlee & Associates, and Mokihana Insurance Agency.
The Kaua‘i County Council and County Clerk Peter Nakamura made the historic County Building available for the competition awards ceremony in Lihu‘e last week.
The artwork of the five Kaua‘i students will now be entered into the final phase of Kaha Ki‘i, on May 6 at the Queen Ka‘ahumanu Shopping Center on Maui.
The first-place winner of next month’s finals will have his or her artwork displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol, alongside other winning pieces from similar contests in each of the nation’s congressional districts.
The winner of the Second Congressional District finals and his or her art teacher also will receive a free round trip to Washington, D.C., to participate in the June 28 ceremony at the U.S. Capitol that will include the unveiling of the winning artwork from each congressional district.
In addition, the statewide runner-up will have his or her artwork displayed for one year in Case’s Washington, D.C. office.
The third-place winner’s work will be displayed in Case’s Honolulu office for one year.
Judges in the Kaua‘i phase of the competition were Alton Amimoto, Cyndy Hanano, and Richard Minatoya.
