Gallery: Nashville students win cash prizes in ‘Show Us YOUR Nashville’ artwork contest
The two top winners won $1,000 each for their artwork and were recognized at the Artville public art festival over the weekend.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Metro Nashville Public School students won big in the first “Show Us YOUR Nashville” artwork contest.
The contest prompted students ages eight to 18 to present their ideas for making the city a better place.
The two top winners won $1,000 each for their artwork and were recognized at the Artville public art festival over the weekend.
“Kamillia Hellweg, a fourth grader at Napier Elementary School, won first place in the 8 to 12 age group category, while Stella Graham, an eighth grader at J.T. Moore Middle, won first place in the 13 to 18 age group,” MNPS said. “Two more MNPS students, SJ Clayton, a senior at Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet High School, and Tatiyanna Farmer, an eighth grader at West End Middle, tied for third place in the 13 to 18 age category and split a $500 prize.”
This contest was created by Kidizenship and co-hosted by Vanderbilt University’s Project on Unity and American Democracy. Its goal was to give Nashville’s young people an opportunity to show how they would improve their city through artwork and brief essays.
Here’s a look at some of the students’ essays:
Kamillia said she would provide more options for people in her community in the Napier area, including a community grocery store, a toy store or place where children could play video games and a playground. These would create healthier food options, more activities for kids, and more job opportunities in the neighborhood, Kamillia wrote.
Stella wrote that she would implement mandatory “mental health/shooter probability screenings for students in grades 6-12.”
“These screenings would find students hurting and help them, preventing many from acting on their pain with violence,” she wrote.
Tatiyanna took up a similar theme, writing that she wants to “live past 13″ and that gun control is the solution. SJ wrote about making the city “more accessible to those without a car” through “maintained sidewalks, bike lanes with proper safety barriers, and a bus system that is efficient and reliable.”
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