50th Annual Teen Art Competition
Competition Judges
Jaleel Campbell, Artist and Co-founder of Black Artist Collective
Victor Rivera, Exhibitions and Collection Manager at Light Work
Gina Stankivitz, Assistant Registrar at the Everson Museum of Art
Evan Starling-Davis, Artist & Ph.D. Student in Literacy Education at Syracuse Univ.
Cjala Surratt, Publicist and Owner of Black Citizens Brigade Vintage Co.
Qiana Williams, Program Officer of Central NewYork Community Foundation
Tanisha M. Jackson, Ph.D., Executive Director Community Folk Art Center & Asst. Professor in African American Studies
NEGRO NATIONAL ANTHEM
Sculpture and Ceramics, Nottingham High School, Grade 11
My favorite part of creating this piece was her hair. My least favorite part was sculpting the mouth to blend it perfectly.
My inspiration was that she was strong – she is my favorite fairytail character that was discriminated against because of her power, but she was very brave.
I learned that it takes patience and hard work to create this kind of sculpture.
Adding color after the sculpture was fired at the end was surprisingly enjoyable.
Look at the picture over and over to get it right. Build the newspaper armature first, add the Clay day by day, shape features. Smoothing the sculpture at the end was challenging.
Sculpture and Ceramics, Nottingham High School, Grade 12
Sculpture and Ceramics, Henninger High School, Grade 12
Sculpting the face and watching it transform was my favorite part of this artwork. Shaping the shoulders was the least favorite part. Too much adding Clay.
My inspiration for creating this sculpture is that he was my favorite actor, sad when he died. I made this as a memorable piece of artwork to tribute him.
I wouldn’t change anything.
Creating an armature, sculpting from a drawing, working for a long period of time keeping Clay moist.
Yes, This is my first time making this kind of artwork. It looks real likes him, and makes me surprised.
Sculpture and Ceramics, Henninger High School, Grade 11
Sculpture and Ceramics, Nottingham High School, Grade 12
Sculpture and Ceramics, Corcoran High School, Grade 11
Photography, Nottingham High School, Grade 12
Photography, C-NS Highschool, Grade 12
The inspiration for this piece was that I wanted to learn more about night photography and long exposures. I have tried numerous lenses, locations, and subjects and after I went on a college tour at Buffalo State College, I had the chance to visit Niagara Falls and captured this scenic vista. I had tried this shot at numerous focal lengths and exposures and because of this process I think I got a shot that I’m very happy with. I also learned the concept of timing out a long exposure and the importance of using certain lens for nocturnal photography. Another thing I learned is that it’s important to shoot multiple attempts to capture a final shot that you are happy with and is in sharp focus. For this shot I used my Canon EOS 2000D at a 30 second exposure. My favorite part of this shot is the tack-like sharpness of the buildings in contrast to the smoothness of the waterfall.
Digital Art, Nottingham High School, Grade 12
Not bad for a first digital painting
Digital Art, Nottingham High School, Grade 9
Digital Art, Fayetteville-Manlius High School, Grade 12
My family always reminds me that even though living in a country with ethnic diversity, I should never forget my cultural heritage. I draw myself as a girl in a traditional Chinese costume blowing a bamboo flute, a time-honored musical instrument. The melodious music awakens my reverence for Chinese culture, and makes me feel a connection between self-identity and ancestral heritage. The elements surrounded are totems with special meanings: the red sun in the middle, which creates a strong color contrast with the green, represents the vitality; the white cranes in the background, which neutralize the visual impact, are the symbols of wisdom, harmony and eternity which are my wishes for our world.
Mixed Media, Nottingham High School, Grade 11
While looking around the room for inspiration, I saw an orchid plant that I thought would be fun to work with. I chose to experiment with water color for the first time in a couple years, and although the piece didn’t come out exactly the way that I would’ve liked it to have, it was still a fun experience trying to work with water color. If I could create this piece again, I would try to be more loose with my brush strokes to give more of a watercolor effect, but I do like the bright warm colors contrasting with the cool pale background.
Mixed Media, Corcoran High School, Grade 12
Mixed Media, Corcoran High School, Grade 12
“This series was intended to portray several stages of grief, the title, The Mourning
(series), reflects this. I used a music score of Piano Sonata No. 8 by Beethoven, also known as Sonata Pathetique, meaning “evoking pity.” I experimented with mixed media, utilizing acrylic paint, oil pastel, oil paint, watercolor, and collage in this piece. The expressions change from artwork to artwork in the series to demonstrate the three stages of grief I’ve felt: acceptance,
anger, and sadness.”
Mixed Media, Nottingham High School, Grade 12
Mixed Media, Nottingham High School, Grade 12
Mixed Media, Corcoran High School, Grade 12
Painting, Henninger High School, Grade 11
My favorite part of this piece would be the face, more specifically the nose. My least favorite would be the chest. My inspiration would be the amount of love I have for my dog. I would pay more attention to the detail of my dog’s body to portray that realistic texture on the portrait. I learned to pay close attention to even the smallest details of the face. For this piece, I sketched out the main shapes of my dog and then progressively would add more details. I then would mix a bunch of different colors together and blend it all together.
Painting, Nottingham High School, Grade 12
Painting, Corcoran High School, Grade 12
Bears are solitary creatures that aren’t nice to anyone that comes around them, so creating bears that are the complete opposite was my goal.
Painting, Nottingham High School, Grade 11
Painting, Nottingham High School, Grade 11
Painting, Corcoran High School, Grade 12
I explored monochromatic color schemes and the use of shape and line further to
create a simple, impactful piece. I drew upon my experience in Medusa by creating depth with tones only and my experience with line and shape in Life & Death. However, in this piece, I utilized line to be symbolic on its own, without the context of an object, to demonstrate the pain felt by the figure in the composition as referenced by the title, Shattered.
Painting, Nottingham High School, Grade 12
Painting, Nottingham High School, Grade 9
My favorite part of this artwork is the color. I wanted to create a piece that was dull but had some sort of pop, so I used a murky grey/green and a red for contrast. This art piece and a loose form of a self portrait it doesn’t look much like me but many of her features represent mine.
Best In Show
Painting, Nottingham High School, Grade 9
Drawing, Nottingham High School, Grade 12
Drawing, Corcoran High School, Grade 12
Drawing, Nottingham High School, Grade 11
I created this piece because I wanted to develop my observational skills as I worked on a still life piece, while also being able to experiment with composition and different values. By solely working with black charcoal, I was able to figure out how to use different shades of black and grey in order to create depth, and show reflection by keeping spaces white. .
Drawing, Corcoran High School, Grade 12
Drawing, Nottingham High School, Grade 12
Drawing, Corcoran High School, Grade 11
This self-portrait was inspired by Frida Kahlo’s 1934 The Two Fridas and Margaret
Keane’s 1957 Paris in the Spring. In this piece, I experimented with proportion and emphasized certain facial features to accentuate flaws I see in myself, symbolizing how I view myself more negatively compared to how others see me as referenced by the title.
Drawing, Nottingham High School, Grade 11
My favorite part of this art is the snake, and the least favorite part is the shading. My inspiration for this art is Japanese tattoo. I would change how I shade it. I learn how to shade.how the art came out surprise me. I draw the demon head first then the snake which took me a while to get it the way I like it. I later add the flower to add more to the drawing.
Drawing, Nottingham High School, Grade 11
Drawing, Henninger High School, Grade 11
My favorite part is the hair and I don’t necessarily have a least favorite part for this piece. My inspiration behind this was the feeling of loneliness and sadness. I would try to do better on the shadows and the wrinkles on the clothing because I think it would add a lot more detail to pay attention too. I learned how to blend different chalks together to give highlights on certain areas like the hair in which the hair was also the most surprising to me. To make this artwork, I sketched out the main shapes and started adding more detail as I went on. I eventually progressed into the shading and shadows and created this piece.
& Most Eclectic
Drawing, Nottingham High School, Grade 12
Drawing, Nottingham High School, Grade 12
Winner
Winner
The Parthenia Harper Scholarship
High School: William Nottingham
College: Syracuse University
Major: English & Creative Writing
National Honor Society
Aniyah is a senior at Nottingham, and is apart of the Syracuse University class of 2026 student body. Aniyah plans to major in English, with a minor in Creative Writing. Throughout the 4 years, she had the opportunity to lead the Varsity Football Cheer Team, Jv Basketball & JV Lacrosse. She has also been apart of numerous other communities including the Addams Family Production cast, Girl Up, National Honor Society, Superintendent’s Cabinet, and many others. She’s super exited to continue her education and be apart of a new community after high school!
The Anne Felton Book Award
High School: Syracuse Academy of Sciences
College: North Carolina A&T
Major: Medicine (OB-GYN)
National Honor Society
My name is Jviona baker and I currently attend Syracuse Academy of Science. I am an Honors student and in the fall I’ve decided to go to North Carolina A&T. I’ve been involved in the national honors society, prom committee, PGR, and much more. Within these programs, I had the opportunity to be a leader to others. Not only growing as a person but as a better individual for my peers and being the person they can rely on.
The David McDonald Book Award
High School: Bishop Ludden
College: Onondaga Community College
Major: Culinary Arts with Focus on Business
National Honor Society
The Syracuse Memorial Book Award
High School: Cicero North Syracuse
College: Niagara University
Major: Political Science
National Honor Society
Godis Nicholson is a successful student-athlete, entrepreneur and gifted multitasker who has a passion for helping others. While matriculating through high school, some highlights of her success include the National Honor Society and Dean’s List. As entrepreneur Godis launched two businesses: God Is Giving – Creating care packages for the homeless, and God’s Gift Tutoring – a small tutoring program for students ages 3 to 10 years
2021- 2022 MEMBERSHIP ROSTER
Miranda Askew-Brown, Treasurer
Me’Shae Brooks-Rolling
Marjorie Carter, Platinum
Trymeter Carter
Nalisa Clark, Financial Secretary
Rosa Clark
Lois Davis-Wilson, Alumna Platinum
Priscilla Dhafir
Linda Ervin
Dell Ford Jordan, President
Evelyn Ingram, Vice President-Membership
Minnie Jenkins
Sandra Jones
Michele Jones Galvin
Janee’ Palmer
Merriette Pollard, Vice President-Programs
Kira K. Reed, Recording Secretary
LaVonda Reed
Cynthia Saunders-Cheatham
Tayari Shaw
Patricia Stith
Shawntay Thompson, Corresponding Secretary
The Syracuse (NY) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated and The Community Folk Art Center wish to thank the Syracuse University Department of African American Studies and Syracuse University College of Arts and Sciences.
COMMUNITY FOLK ART CENTER STAFF
Tanisha M. Jackson, Ph.D. – Executive Director
Pam Lane – Administrative Specialist
Zakiyah Thompkins – Administrative Assistant
Alysha Lane – Arts Education Assistant
2022 Participating Student Artists
Cicero North Syracuse High School
Devin
Corcoran High School
Brianna
Emory
Imara
Leah
Skylar
Fayetteville Manlius High School
Yuhan
Henninger High School
Grace
Romina
Nottingham High School
Camille
Cecelia
Claire
Hayat
Ghanim
Jimmy
Jocelyn
Ker Sah
Madison
Sara
Selaci
Tun
Win Ber