Case announces five Big Island semifinalists in his congressional arts contest

They’ll now compete with district-wide finalists for a roundtrip to Washington, D.C.

Honolulu, Hawaii – Congressman Ed Case has announced that the artwork of five Big Island high school students will advance to the district-wide finals of his congressional art contest and compete for the grand prize of a roundtrip for two to Washington, D.C.

Case’s contest, “Kaha Kii: An Artistic Discovery,” is part of a nationwide search for the best student art from congressional districts across the country that will be unveiled by the Congressional Arts Caucus in Washington, D.C. on June 28, 2006 in the U.S. Capitol.

“The Congressional Arts Caucus created the contest in 1982 to promote the arts across the country, and this competition has certainly accomplished that goal by attracting outstanding and imaginative artwork from our high school students using media ranging from oil paintings to computer-generated illustrations,” said Case who presented the winners at a ceremony Saturday (April 22, 2006) at Lyman Museum in Hilo. “And it’s always exciting to see each year’s overall winning piece on display in the U.S. Capitol—a honor that goes with the grand prize of a trip for the winning student and his or her art teacher to Washington, D.C.”

The Big Island semifinalists’are:
• First Place - Scott Daimaru, Waiakea High School
• Second Place - Cyndi Kohashi, Waiakea High School
• Third Place - Jorgine Agasa, Waiakea High School
• Fourth Place - Mari Nickl, Kohala High School
• Fifth Place - James Moore, Hilo High School

The competition is made possible, in part, by donations from The Estate of James Campbell, Aloha Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, Hilton Hawaiian Village, Creative Arts Hawaii, and Lyman Museum. Connie Kurohara, Jane Miyasaki, and Lucille Takemoto provided refreshments at the awards ceremony.

The artwork of the five Big Island students will now be entered into the final phase of Kaha Kii on May 6, 2006 at the Queen Kaahumanu Shopping Center on Maui. The first-place winner of next month’s finals will have his or her artwork displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol, alongside other winning pieces from similar contests in each of the nation’s congressional districts.

The winner of the Second Congressional District finals and his or her art teacher also will receive a free roundtrip to Washington, D.C. to participate in a June 28, 2006 ceremony at the U.S. Capitol that will unveil the winning artwork from each congressional district. Additionally, the statewide runner-up will have his or her artwork displayed for one year in Case’s Washington, D.C. office. The third-place winner’s work will be displayed in Case’s Honolulu office for one year.

Judges of the competition were Ted Dixon, Barbara Hastings, and Pua Tokumoto.