Winter Festival Youth Art Exhibit Reception and Awards Ceremony

A public reception and awards ceremony was held on Friday, December 4th for the 2009 Winter Festival Youth Art Exhibit. See the photographs taken during that event by clicking here.

The exhibit is now hanging in City Hall Gallery, on the second floor of City Hall. The show will remain there until January 7th, 2010. It is free to the public and open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Parking is available in Kleman Plaza.

Special thanks to Assistant Superintendent, Shannon Lynch for stepping in at the last minute to hand out awards. Thanks also to Jo Marie Olk, Leon County Schools' Curriculum Development Coordinator and Fine Arts Developer for being there in support of the students and teachers

We are so appreciative for The Raa Middle School Strings Ensemble who provided the music for the opening reception. The student performers were: Sharon Davis, Chase Grim, Alex Haywood, Samantha Humphrey, Shelby Mantay, Angelina Mitchell, Inteser Mousa, Austin Peppers and Anna Russian. Their Musical Director is Victor Fernandez.

Congratulations the 2009 Winter Festival Youth Art Exhibition awards winners and their teachers.

Middle School Winners

1st Place

Jamesse Williams, Nims Middle School

Walter Thorner, Art Teacher

2nd Place

Destiny Bartels, Raa Middle School

Teresa Coates, Art Teacher

3rd Place

Rhea Donna Reyes, Fairview Middle School

Jason Glisson, Art Teacher

Honorable Mentions

Yasemin Altun, Fairview Middle School

Jason Glisson, Art Teacher

Ryan Crawford, Raa Middle School

Teresa Coates, Art Teacher

Casey McKinless, Gretchen Everhart School

Judy Jecko, Art Teacher

High School Winners

1st Place

Tommy Cooper, SAIL High School

Sheri Nilles, Art Teacher

2nd Place

Karla Vincent, SAIL High School

Carucha Bowles, Art Teacher

3rd Place

Mahvish Nisa, Rickards High School

Jeff Distefano, Art Teacher

Honorable Mentions

Tifani James, Florida State University School

Debi Barrett-Hayes, Art Teacher

Catherine Keckler, Home School

Anne Keckler, Art Teacher

John Skinner, SAIL High School

Dominic Gheesling, Art Teacher

Mayor's Award

Best of Show

Todd Jones, Lincoln High School

Marilyn Proctor-Givens, Art Teacher

Winter Festival Youth Art Exhibition

The Winter Festival Youth Art Exhibit for 2009 showcases youthful talent and imagination through 82 pieces of student artwork. Forty-one elementary, middle and high school art teachers submitted work on behalf of their students for the show. And, the entries represent 30 different area public, private and home schools. The dedication and professionalism of our area art teachers is evident in the quality of the student artwork on display in the gallery.

A public reception for the exhibition begins at 6:00pm on Friday, Dec.4th in the City Hall Gallery. The awards ceremony will start at 6:30pm with Leon County Superintendent of Schools Jackie Pons acting as master of ceremonies. It promises to be an evening of great pride for the students and awe-inspired admiration for those who see the show.

The exhibit is now hanging in the City Hall Gallery, 300 S. Adams St., second floor. The show will remain there until January 7th, 2010. It is free to the public and open Monday-Friday, 8:00am-5:30pm. Parking is available in Kleman Plaza. For more information about this or any upcoming exhibitions, please contact Amanda Karioth Thompson (amanda@cocanet.org) or Clint Riley (clint@cocanet.org) at COCA, (850) 224-2500.