2022 Design Contest Winners
By: Lydia Phillips / Creative Strategist
Our second annual design contest was nothing short of spectacular. Some of you may remember last year’s contest, where we received nearly 30 entries from across the state. This year, we received an astonishing 79 entries. Wow!
Examples of the student artwork we received this year for our 2nd Annual Design Contest. The theme was “Self Portrait: Life in a Border State”
Our judges panel (made up of members of the NMILC staff) spent last week discussing the entries. We carefully considered each piece in three categories, scoring them on a scale of 1-5:
Interpretation of the Theme: How closely the piece relates to the contest theme Self Portrait: Life in a Border State based on both the artist's work and statement.
Artistic Merit: How creative and original the piece is in concept and presentation.
Mastery of Medium: The level of skill demonstrated, considering grade level/age.
Each piece was ranked on a scale of 1-5 in each of those three areas by each judge, and then the scores were average and added up for a highest possible score of 15.
We had so many wonderful pieces that we really had to rely on these categories to judge fairly. Even with such clear cut scoring—it was tough to make the decisions! Initially we had these prize categories: Grand, First Place, Second Place, Third Place, People’s Choice, and a Classroom Prize for the teacher with the most students who entered.
During the judging process, and anonymous donor gave us six $25 Visa Gift Cards so that we could award and Honorable Mention for each grade level. We were so grateful for the opportunity to highlight more of our artists! These Honorable Mentions will become a standard award for future design contests.
Without further ado, here are your 2022 Student Design Contest winners!
Grand Prize:
From the judges:
Our grand prize goes to Anna Bonocini. Anna's self portrait walking along her driveway against a wall of sunflowers, the wide open New Mexico sky behind her, immediately connected with our judges panel. It scored perfectly across all three categories (Interpretation of the Theme, Artistic Merit, Mastery of Medium) and ultimately became our top pick for this year's contest. While discussing Anna's interpretation of the theme, the judges agreed that this piece captures what it feels like to walk in the New Mexico sunshine. We loved seeing the wild sunflowers (sometimes called Pecos Sunflowers) that grow across our state. You can imagine them bobbing in the gentle breeze, adding to the movement in her step and the smile on her lips. Metaphorically, the freedom of movement is something we wish for all individuals who make New Mexico their home. It's hard to successfully capture so much symbolism into one piece, but we felt that Anna's artwork was the best choice for our Grand Prize.
First Place:
From the judges:
Lindsay's huge (16x20!) self portrait riding the bus is truly a uniquely thoughtful piece. As you look at it you'll discover detail after detail telling the story of this young woman. In her included artist statement, she explained that each of the girls are herself and the seat numbers indicate the grade level at the time. So it is really a self portrait of herself over four years, captured in the same daily task of riding the bus. In terms of Interpretation of the Theme, we felt it perfectly encapsulated a self portrait and life in our border state: the mountains, the piñon, the sun filling the sky over the Española Valley. But the area that the judges felt Lindsay's piece went above and beyond the other was in the scoring categories of Artistic Merit and Mastery of Medium. We loved the originality of it, and how successfully she executed her concept. In our own discussions we kept coming back to the journey of this piece, and the sun rising in the window, filling the scene with a newness and hope that are truly hard to capture– but Lindsay does it with ease. Congratulations, Lindsay, on an outstanding piece of art!
Second Place:
From the judges:
Daniela Perez's self portrait in front of the Organ Mountains of Las Cruces, NM caught the judges attention for a number of reasons. First of all: in the category of Artistic Merit, we felt that her piece was exceptionally original. What a clever idea to paint herself into the landscape! We felt it was a solid Interpretation of the Theme: a self portrait of life in our border state. While many of our entries included mountains and sunsets, we felt this one stood out from the others because of Daniela's artistic skill and originality. The whimsical textures and the smile on her lips that the artist enjoyed making this piece. Great job, Daniela!
Third Place:
From the judges:
"I love my cousin, I have 2 sisters. I had 3 sisters but one died, she was 14, so now we are 2. But we are 3 because I have 1 brother. My sister still lives in El Salvador because she has a baby"
Tatiana's self portrait is an extraordinary work of art and storytelling. A 6th grader who recently immigrated from El Salvador, her teacher took the time to clarify the words Tatiana wrote on her piece, adding that Tatiana is tackling the English language "fearlessly". It is this same boldness that captured our judges attention: here is a young girl, given a chance to share a self portrait with the world and she creates this beautiful, raw story of herself, her family, her homeland. We loved the design choices she made: the text encircling her, the patterns in her hair and the fabric of her dress. She was the only artist to write directly on her entry, perhaps her solution to an inability to draw everything she wanted to include. For these reasons, the judges felt she successfully met our Interpretation of the Theme, and her Artistic Merit was above and beyond her peers, and her Mastery of Medium applaudable for her grade level. Congrats, Tatiana!
People’s Choice Award:
Nina's self portrait is the recipient of our People's Choice award! This award is determined by "Likes" on our Facebook page. She received 60 likes as well as many comments and shares. Great work, Nina!
6th Grade Honorable Mention:
From the judges:
Our Honorable Mention for 6th grade goes to Yadiel’s self portrait. The judges felt it was a great example of execution of a self portrait, both the facial rendering and the inclusion of his favorite things. We appreciated the edge-to-edge color and the detail he put into this piece. Great work, Yadiel!
7th Grade Honorable Mention
From the judges:
Vyctoria's self portrait stood out from her peers for several reasons. First, the judges immediately recognized her artistic skill as being above and beyond her grade level. Choosing to include her mother as part of her self portrait was an intriguing interpretation of the theme, and made it stand out from the rest. Lastly, the judges loved Vyctoria's chicano signature, a nod to her New Mexico roots. Great job, Vyctoria!
8th Grade Honorable Mention
From the judges:
Sophia's collage caught the judges attention for it’s strong composition and use of mixed media. Her artistic choices feel intentional. We wished there was an artist statement to accompany it, but without one, the message of struggle, masses, and humanity comes through clearly and is one that resonates with the immigrant communities we support. The upward gaze of the face feels hopeful and determined–perhaps a great leader in the making. Congrats, Sophia!
9th Grade Honorable Mention
From the judges:
Isabella's self portrait took a unique and risky route: removing the face. Ultimately the judges felt her intentionality was to include more people, uniting New Mexico through landscape. This was a popular idea for our contest's theme, but the judges felt that Isabella did a better execution than other 9th graders. They also felt her artistic skill and mastery of medium were above and beyond her peers. Thank you, Isabella!
From the judges:
Delicia Salaz's self portrait is another example of a student choosing to depict a "self portrait" of New Mexico rather than themselves as an individual. The judges felt that Delicia tackled a broad subject matter and did it well. They felt her attention to detail went above and beyond her peers. A wonderful piece!
From the judges:
Our 11th grade Honorable Mention goes to Savannah's oil pastel self portrait. The judges felt it stood out from the others for its color palette and deep sense of mystery. While the judges did not see a strong connection between her portrait and "Life in a Border State" they felt it was still an exceptional example of a self portrait and showed great artistic skill, beyond her peers. Excellent job, Savannah!
12th Grade Honorable Mention
From the judges:
Our 12th grade Honorable Mention goes to Elizabeth Wagner and her unique depiction of "Self Portrait: Life in a Border State". This is a great example of where an artist's statement can really elevate a piece into higher consideration. While the judges scored her highly in Mastery of Medium, for her skillful depiction, it was her artist's statement that really showed the intentionality behind her choices. For example, from her statement: "The workers of New Mexico in all aspects are the backbone of our state. Tomatoes represent the fruits of our labor and workers, and the ability to enjoy what we have due to those amazing workers" and "Living in the border state of New Mexico gives us so much culture and beauty. Without our Pueblo style or unique color palette, it would not at all feel at home." Elizabeth's decision to use tomatoes as the subject/self portrait was an interesting choice and the judges felt she executed it successfully. Congratulations, Elizabeth!
Classroom Prize:
This year’s classroom prize goes to art teacher Carol S. at El Camino Real Academy, who had 18 of her students submit artwork. Congrats!
That’s it! Thank you to each and everyone student who submitted artwork—you are all phenomenal artists and it was an honor to receive your submissions! Watch the mail for your certificates and prizes later this month.
Lydia Phillips is NMILC’s Creative Strategist and Photographer.
Posted May 13, 2022 by Lydia Phillips, Creative Strategist
Artwork by New Mexico student artists.
