A large crowd escaped from the vicious cold Wednesday night to fill This Century Art Gallery, as high schools students, parents, grandparents and educators packed into the gallery to search the walls for familiar pieces and prize ribbons.
They were all there for the 11th annual High School Art Show, which featured 145 pieces from 104 students in the Williamsburg area.
Karen Schwartz, the show’s coordinator, said visitors were lining up outside at 6:15 p.m. for the 7 p.m. public reception and awards ceremony.
“It’s probably our best-attended show of the year,” she said.
Schwartz said TCAG has always showcased work by students in some way. One year the talent was so strong they decided to do a juried show just for high-schoolers. Since the show’s inception, the art has continued to improve and impress.
Unlike previous years, the pieces in this year’s show were determined by teachers in the participating schools. Bruton, Jamestown, Lafayette and Warhill high schools, along with Walsingham Academy and Williamsburg Christian Academy, all have students highlighted in the show.
Juliette Kirby, a Williamsburg artist who shows her work around Virginia and the East Coast, served as the judge once the pieces were selected by educators. Kirby, originally from England, studied at two London art schools.
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First Place: Shelby Marie Adcock, Lafayette
Second Place: Hannah Margaret Dowdy, Warhill
Third Place: Kaitlin Michelle Vitantonio, Warhill
Merit Awards
Aura Fessler (Three Pieces), Lafayette; Abbey Rae Connors, Warhill; Grace Dolan, Jamestown; Ashland Ghaffari, Jamestown; Peyton Helbert, Jamestown; Walker Kale, Lafayette; Liam Kiniry, Walsingham; Cullen Westbury, Lafayette
Honorable Mentions
Cori Brown, Bruton; Alayna Carin Cormier, Warhill; Mark Costanzo, Warhill; Grace Dolan, Jamestown; Emily Rebecca Douglass, Warhill; Haley Benson Ellis (Two Pieces), Warhill; Kathryn Everett, Lafayette; Danyah Abdelnaser Hassan, Warhill; Jessica Horne, Jamestown; Reesha Patel, Warhill; Shena Patel, Warhill; Julia Robbins Shawver, Warhill; Emma Yeats, Lafayette
People’s Choice Award
Haley Benson Ellis, Warhill
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Kirby selected the first, second and third prize winners, eight merit award winners and 14 honorable mentions. Award winners all received cash prizes.
Kirby said it was a tough decision, but that she considered originality and creative use of materials when choosing the honorees.
Shelby Marie Adcock, a Lafayette senior, took home the top prize for her untitled piece in acrylic. It depicts a young woman staring directly out of the image, blowing a large bubble of gum which Kirby called the “symbol of her generation.”
Adcock said she had started taking art lessons in the third grade and hopes to study art therapy at Virginia Commonwealth University next year. She was not expecting to have such outstanding recognition.
“I thought if anything, maybe I’d get an honorable mention,” Adcock said.
In addition to the prizes bestowed by Kirby, members of TCAG crowned the People’s Choice Winner by ballot at the preview Monday night.
Warhill junior Haley Benson Ellis said she did not know she won it until she saw the ribbon next to her work “Smoking Skeleton” at the ceremony Wednesday. Ellis has been an artist for as long as she can remember, and also hopes to make a career from her passion.
For students pursuing art after high school, Schwartz said the show provides valuable exposure — a stepping stone in their study. They also have the chance to be judged, and can gain inspiration from seeing the different student perspectives represented in the show.
Most schools give awards to recognize their athletes, and band and theater students have the opportunity to perform. TCAG wants to highlight some of the quieter, though no less talented, students.
“It’s a chance for visual artists to have a voice,” Schwartz said.
The show runs through Feb. 7 at TCAG, located at 219 North Boundary St.
