Columbia College hosted the 19th Annual High School Art Competition on March 9, 2024 from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM in the Sidney Larson Gallery in Brown Hall. Sixteen art students from Battle had art featured in the competition, and some even won awards. The Sidney Larson Gallery is open to the public from 9:00 A.M- 5:00 P.M Monday through Friday. Maps for campus can be found in front of and around the school.
Students were able to submit art of all kinds including but not limited to drawing, painting, digital media, photography, and sculpture. Battle High School participated in the art competition along with other high school students from across Missouri for a cash prize. The Battle High students who competed in the art competition are Maya Angstrom, Luke Browning, Lily Draper, ZaNiya Edwards, Alize Efta, Avery Haner, Ryan Holste, Kiara Naomi Lopez-Espinosa, Leilani Lynn, Melissa Path, Jacie Perkey, Dawson Peters, Shawn Roundtree, Dylan Sappington, Steele Sheaffer, and Rhiannon Williamson.
The top entries in every category were announced in the award ceremony which began at 11:00 AM. All of the competitors were told in advance which awards, if any, they would be receiving at the ceremony. The Battle students who won awards were Avery Haner, who took first Place in drawing. Maya Angstrom, took first Place in Photography. Stalee Sheaffer took second Place in Photography. Kiara Lopez-Espinosa who had an honorable mention in the drawing category, took third place in photography, and had a photo that was the image selected for the exhibition poster. Dylan Sappington had an honorable mention in the photography category. Finally, Dawson Peters took the award of Best Title. At noon competitors were given back their art that they wanted to keep and viewers were allowed to start buying what was left.
The top competitors were rewarded with a cash prize and a discounted Summer Arts Intensive Session. One student from the entire competition was rewarded Best In Show. That student has received a $100 cash prize, a free registration to the Summer Arts Intensive Session, and a $1,000 grant to Columbia College if the student decides to major in art. That would definitely help art students pay for art school which many students hope will turn into a career. Some of the Battle competitors plan to continue with their art in hopes one day it might become a career. “I absolutely see myself continuing photography in the future.” said Steele Shafer, the Battle student who won second place in the photography category. “I have plans to enter the field of photojournalism with the dream of working for National Geographic, and I’ve been accepted to Mizzou’s School of Journalism.”
Kiara Lopez-Espinosa, another Battle student who won third place in photography, agrees and says, “I plan to attend KCAI after high school to pursue an artistic career, I don’t know what I would do without art!” Our Battle competitors were all very excited about the competition. There were so many beautiful drawings, photographs, paintings, and sculptures decorating the walls of multiple hallways in the gallery. Most of the competitors had at least two pieces of art in the competition. Kiara Lopez-Espinosa says, “All three of my pieces were on display at the competition. My favorite would have to be the sculpture I made of Frida Kahlo because it helped me progress in my ceramic abilities.”