Eight Palm Springs High School students helped their art department take top honors, and reap some financial rewards, during the first competition of its type at Desert Art Center (DAC) over the recent holiday weekend.
Driving the news: The Student Art Show at DAC, held May 26 through 28, saw art instructors from six Palm Springs Unified School District high schools each enter up to 50 pieces from their students. Students worked on their pieces for months.
- Categories included drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, and more. In the end, PSHS earned the most points from the judges, followed by Mt. San Jacinto, Rancho Mirage, Cathedral City, and Desert Hot Springs high schools.
- Along with scoring top honors, PSHS also landed $5,000 for its art department. Mt. San Jacinto’s art department received $2,500; Rancho Mirage was awarded $1,000; and both Cathedral City and DHS high schools received $500.
Details: PSHS Students receiving first-place awards included Kathryn Hanes — for both her painting and watercolor work — and Iliana Sierra for her sculpture. Sierra also earned an honorable mention for printmaking. Liam Keane was awarded second place for ceramics; and Ryley Filburn earned third-place in the watercolor category.
- Honorable mentions also went to Daniela Villallea (painting); Aurora Bailon (drawing); Yelena Kim, Elizabeth Diaz Carbojal, and Maria Cruz Cuqhuizo (printmaking); and Natalina Session (sculpture).
Behind the scenes: New this year, the juried art show was an effort to showcase the talents of the most student artists possible, explained Kathleen Strukoff, who helped organize the event. “We used to give out scholarships to a few students but decided to revamp it this year and create a competition,” she said Wednesday.
But wait: The top artists from each of the nine categories will be able to show and sell their works at DAC for up to a year. They will also get some valuable advice.
“Under the guidance of the DAC, these young artists will be mentored to have real life experience as a professional artist,” Strukoff said. “This kind of experience is invaluable to a budding artist.”
More information: Desert Art Center is located at 550 North Palm Canyon Dr. For gallery hours and a current list of classes, check the website here.
