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2009 Entries: 1,456

Drawing: 411
Electronic Media: 152
Mixed Media: 249
Painting: 158
Photography: 336
Sculpture: 150

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The Prizes!

Grand Prize: $5,000
Second Place: $2,500
Third Place: $1,500
Fourth Place: $1,000
Fifth Place: $500
6th thru 10th: $250

About the Visual Arts Contest...

The annual Culture Shapers Visual Arts Contest enables student artists to compete for nearly $70,000 in cash prizes in six categories... drawing, painting, electronic media, mixed media, photography and sculpture. The contest takes place in the Fall, and is open to all High School Students in Harris, Waller, Liberty, Chambers, Galveston, Brazoria, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties.

Students receive a commemorative t-shirt with their entry fee of $20. Entry forms will be e-mailed to the teacher after online registration, and parents, students or teachers deliver and pickup the entries at the drop-off location.

Each year, the Culture Shapers Volunteer Staff receive about 1,500 entries. Jurying will take place in November. The top ten finalists in each category will be invited to an elegant awards ceremony in December, where the winners will be finally announced before a live audience.

About the Culture Shapers Jurying Process...

Culture Shapers jurors are a combination of educators and professionals, who come highly recommended to us by other notable organizations, such as the Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE), as well as others. Many of our jurors have experience both in and out of the classroom, which gives them a unique and valuable perspective on evaluating student artwork. Click here to read more about the Culture Shapers jurying process.

2009 Photography Winners

Color or black and white photographs, using traditional OR digital cameras.

Top 10...

Grand Prize: $5,000
Raw Humanity
Lauren Januhowski
Cypress Fair HS
Cypress Fairbanks ISD
Teacher: Laurie Emery

2nd Place: $2,500
Ethan
Rachel Walker
Cypress Fair HS
Cypress Fairbanks ISD
Teacher: Laurie Emery
3rd Place: $1,500
Black in Black
Ellena Malek
The John Cooper School
Private
Teacher: Karen Fearon

4th Place: $1,000
Frozen
Keller James
The Kinkaid School
Private
Teacher: Diane Marks

5th Place: $500
A Leap of Fate
Baylie McBeth
Cypress Ranch HS
Cypress Fairbanks ISD
Teacher: Jason Neuman

6th Place: $250
The Psych Ward
Holly Henry
The Woodlands High - 9th
Conroe ISD
Teacher: John Roberts

7th Place: $250
Animal Kingdom
Robert Sauermann
Memorial HS
Spring Branch ISD
Teacher: Cathy Bottoms

8th Place: $250
Nexus
Connor Rensimer
Memorial HS
Spring Branch ISD
Teacher: Cathleen May

9th Place: $250
Kayla and Lina
Thai Miller
Cypress Fair HS
Cypress Fairbanks ISD
Teacher: Laurie Emery

10th Place: $250
The Window
Ethan Hernandez
Cypress Ridge HS
Cypress Fairbanks ISD
Teacher: Jaimie Ladysh

Honorable Mention...


Roadster Burger
Alex Gross
The Kinkaid School
Private
Teacher: Diane Marks


The Wall
Kayla Kaplan
Klein HS
Klein ISD
Teacher: Anne Green


Skindeep
Allison Martinez
Cypress Woods HS
Cypress Fairbanks ISD
Teacher: Lindsey Thompson


Let's Walk
Lucy Martinez
Dekaney HS
Spring ISD
Teacher: Kim Abshere


Fatal Blow
Jaime Payes
Elsik HS
Alief ISD
Teacher: Danielle Pontus



About the Jurors...

Lynn Baldwin began his photographic career as a photographer in the U. S. Navy and continued his career in commercial, medical and editorial photography. He headed the Department of Biomedical Communication at the University Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas and retired from there in 1993. His scientific and medical photography has been exhibited in the United States and Canada.  Baldwin had continued his career by pursuing projects in the photographic arts. His work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions in the United States.

Stuart Larson is a Photographic Artist living in Houston. He has held numerous solo and group exhibitions though-out the entire United States. In Houston he is represented by Bering & James, a gallery located in the Rice Village. He currently is the head of Graphic Design at the University of Houston-Clear Lake where he has worked to bring the curriculum fully into the digital age. His courses are focused on the fundamentals of art and design. He teaches courses in Digital Collage Manipulation, Digital Drawing, Typography, Advertising Design, and Web Design and Animation.

Matthew Linton is an Assistant Professor of Visual Arts at the University of Houston, Clear Lake.  He holds his BFA in Photography from Arizona State University and his MFA in Critical and Visual Studies from Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Made Possible By...

...and generous donations from folks just like you, who are passionate about supporting high school student artists. We welcome your tax-deductible donation in any amount!

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