(HOUSTON – NOVEMBER 20, 2008) – Seven Houston-area high school students have been selected as grand-prize winners in the 9th annual Culture Shapers Visual Arts competition, winning $5,000 each. With more than 1,018 entries, the competition awarded $70,500 to 61 students at an elegant ceremony held at Westfield High School on Thursday, November 20th, 2008. In addition to the grand-prize winners, dozens of other finalists received cash prizes ranging from $250 to $2,500.

The competition’s six categories include Drawing, Electronic Media, Mixed Media, Painting, Photography and Sculpture. Two students entered and placed in multiple categories.

Kendra Phillips, a senior at Clements HS, took home $2,500 and 2nd Place in Drawing and placed fifth in Painting, earning another $500. Anda Brown, a junior at Clear Creek High School and previous winner (2nd Place Sculpture winner in the 2007 contest), earned 3rd place in both the Sculpture and Mixed Media categories this year, bringing her total Culture Shapers winnings to a whopping $5,500!

“Visual and performing arts are universal forms of expression that can connect students from all walks of life,” said Ernie Fitzpatrick, Culture Shapers founder and president. “It is not uncommon for schools to honor students who excel in athletics or science. We promote the belief that it is equally important to encourage students to pursue careers in the arts, thus encouraging them to become the ‘culture shapers’ of the future.”

“Participation in the arts promotes critical-thinking skills and problem-solving abilities, key factors that can play into a student’s future success,” said A. Steve Arizpe, executive vice president, client services and chief operating officer of Administaff, one of the competition’s sponsors. “The creativity demonstrated by these young artists is inspiring, and we at Administaff are committed to providing opportunities for them to pursue their artistic and educational goals.”

For all students, placing in the competition took hard work, creativity and dedication. For some, however, it also took overcoming obstacles. Sergio Rangel, a senior at Pasadena Memorial High School won the $1,000 Danny Wood “Heart in Art” award, named in memory of Culture Shapers supporter Danny Wood. The award recognizes a student who has overcome adversity and exemplifies leadership, service and character. Sergio and his family endured being homeless, and yet he found it within himself to actually serve others during this difficult time, even volunteering to build a house for another homeless family.

During one of the most emotional moments of the evening, Sergio invited his teacher and legal guardian, Victor Raygoza, along with his wife, Shannon Raygoza, to join him onstage and honored them for their encouragement.

» Click here to read Lyn Fitzpatrick’s moving speech recognizing Sergio Rangel.

In addition to honoring teen artists, the event also recognized a teacher and an administrator for going “above and beyond” in their efforts to create compelling programs for young people to pursue the arts. This year’s “Teacher of the Year” award went to Lisa Canorro, of Kerr High School in Alief ISD. This year’s “Administrator of the Year” award went to Rick Ghinelli, Director of Performing and Visual Arts in Spring ISD.

Financial support for Culture Shapers is provided by Administaff and The Nathaniel Foundation. Many other area businesses contribute to the program throughout the year with tax-deductible donations and sponsorships. The Culture Shapers visual arts contest, which is judged by arts educators and professionals, has awarded more than $700,000 to young artists in the past eight years.

Not unaffected by the ongoing economic difficulties, Culture Shapers has encountered a lack of funding this year, and as a result, were forced to cut one category from the contestm which normally features a total of seven categories.

“We chose the Film category because it represented the smallest number of entries, but more importantly, because we felt the Film category carried with it the potential to do something even greater for our talented young filmmakers,” said Ernie Fitzpatrick. “We are actively seeking financial sponsorship to launch a standalone film festival that will take place during the Spring to honor high school filmmakers and give to those winners the same amount of money that is being awarded to our other winners here tonight.”

What is Culture Shapers?
Culture Shapers is an art program open to all high school students in Harris, Waller, Liberty, Chambers, Galveston, Brazoria, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties. The program was created by Houston-area community leaders who were motivated to positively impact the lives of high school students after the 1999 tragedy at Columbine High School. To learn more about Culture Shapers, visit www.cultureshapers.com.

» Click here to view, download and even order prints from the photos of the Awards Presentation.

» Click here to view the COMPLETE set of all photos taken before and during the Awards Presentation.

Contact: Lyn Fitzpatrick at 281.664.1420 for more details!