McCarthy Announces Winners of Congressional Art Competition

Bakersfield, CA – Today, Congressman Kevin McCarthy announced the winners of the 30th Annual "An Artistic Discovery" Congressional Art Competition for high school students. Winners and participants will be honored at a reception on May 6, 2011 at Metro Galleries in Bakersfield from 6:00-7:00 PM.

"The Congressional Art Competition is a great opportunity to encourage artistic expression in our communities," said Congressman McCarthy. "I am continually impressed by the incredible talent and creativity of our young people, and am proud of every artist who entered a piece. I extend my congratulations to all our winners, especially our overall winner Christiana Kallemeyn, whose artwork will be displayed in the Capitol."

The overall winner is Christiana Kallemeyn, 15, who attends Grace Christian Academy in Lancaster. Under the direction of her art teacher, Alicia Garver, Christiana created her piece "Imagination Soars" using colored pencil featuring her father and two cousins reading a book with colorful birds in the background.

Christiana will be invited to attend the exhibit opening of "An Artistic Discovery" in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, June 22, 2011, with her parents Dennis and Tina Kallemeyn. Her artwork will be displayed in the corridor leading to the U.S. Capitol for a period of one year. As the overall winner, she will also receive three round-trip tickets to the exhibit opening, as well as a cash award to be presented at the district reception.

Awards will also be presented to those students who placed First, Second, Third or received an Honorable Mention in the following three categories: Photography, Computer Generated Art and All Other Mediums. In addition, all winners will have the option of displaying their artwork in the Congressman's Washington office for one year.

Below are listed all other winners:

All Other Mediums

• 1st Place- Justin Bingaman, Vista West High School, Bakersfield, Linoleum Carving- "Play full"
• 2nd Place- Hannah Macy, Grace Christian Academy, Lancaster, Colored pencil- "Bundle of Joy"
• 3rd Place- Dakota Hokanson, Golden Valley Virtual Charter School, Pastel- "Sunset Rust"
• Honorable Mention- Camille McGee, West High School, Bakersfield, Cardboard- "Endless Possibilities"
• Honorable Mention- Heather Grossbard, Frontier High School, Bakersfield, Pen, Ink and Watercolors- "Jay"
• Honorable Mention- Yasmine Suleiman, Stockdale High School, Bakersfield, Pencil- "Raising Hope"

Photography

• 1st Place- Jesse Starks, Independence High School, Bakersfield, "love"
• 2nd Place- Jules Najera, Independence High School, Bakersfield, "DREAM"
• 3rd Place- Renee Olshefski, Atascadero High School, Atascadero, "Hurdling into the Shadows"

Computer Generated Art

• 1st Place- Sabrina Millard, Independence High School, Bakersfield, "Just makes me want to pull my hair out"
• 2nd Place- Jennifer Nusser, West High School, Bakersfield, "Magic Music Girl"
• 3rd Place- Maria Sandoval, Independence High School, Bakersfield, "The Silverstein Tree"
• Honorable Mention- Brianna Symonds, Independence High School, Bakersfield, "P.L.V.R Life"

Congressman McCarthy received 70 entries from 12 schools in the 22nd Congressional District this year, which includes part of Kern, San Luis Obispo, and Los Angeles Counties.

Details of Friday's reception: