Sister Cities’ 30th Annual Youth Art Showcase on display at Midland States Bank

By Anne Eickstadt

ANNE EICKSTADT PHOTOS Belvidere Republican
Mayor Mike Chamberlain, Pres. Brad Peters of Sister Cities, and other dignitaries join artists Abbey Brynolf and Sebastian Williams Lacy at the awards ceremony. Second place winner Sydnie Lynn Elder was involved in a school sporting event and was unable to attend.

Editor

“Our Young Artist program had really exceptional artists participate,” said Brad Peters, president of the Sister Cities Association of Belvidere. “Alex Avila has won the last two years and has been acknowledged world-wide.

“This is also the twentieth year of our Youth Exchange in Europe and we will be sending four people this year.” Alex Avila also participated in the Youth Exchange to France last year.

“We are blessed in this community,” said Mayor Mike Chamberlain. “I was reading the explanations of the artists and I see uplifting ideas about what the world needs to be.”

“We are proud to continue to support the arts through District 100,” said Belvidere’s Midland States Bank President Don Banks. “Congratulations to all the artists who contributed and to their teachers who inspired them.”

This year’s contest theme was “Global Citizens: Resilient Communities.”

The young artists were asked to tell the judges what inspired them to create their work. Here is what they had to say:

First Place winner

“Our Resilient Nature” done in artist marker by Abbey Brynolf of Belvidere North High School:

“I was inspired by the idea of people coming together to work on environmental issues. For example, there has been many natural and unnatural disasters that have occurred across the globe. Such events have had impact on millions of people all over the world. From the fires in California, to the severe pollution across Europe and the destruction of natural habitats worldwide. All these take their toll on the people, the land we live upon and all the other inhabitants of this earth. The idea of people coming together as individuals, as communities and globally, inspired my artwork. I wanted to show people being resilient in their determination to overcome these environmental problems. I have personally seen the destruction that people cause through my own travels, from the mass amounts of litter on the streets to the factories pumping out fumes into the air. I believe if we don’t take care of our earth, then it will become a wasteland. We, as people, are resilient. The Earth is resilient. We can bounce back from the devastation that has been done and influence future generations to care for this earth. I have shown in my work, that by working together, we can transform the damage, and create roots that will have strong, everlasting effects throughout the world. By improving the land we live upon, we can come closer to one another. The impact we make today influences the future generations of communities.”

Second Place winner

“Light > Darkness” done in colored pencil by Sydnie Lynn Elder of Belvidere North High School:

“All too frequently, teens around the world wake up to another school shooting. They see kids just like them crying, hugging, dead. They tell themselves, “This is so far away from here. This won’t happen to me.” When all of them know in their hearts that when they walk through the doors to their school that day, it could be them next. The thought is terrifying. Yet we still walk through those doors. We face the crippling fear everyday that a gunman could walk through our school next. We make jokes about the subject and some adults think we are insensitive, but what else are we to do? We get up each day and go to school. We get up each day and learn. We get up each day and face a higher risk of death than one could have imagined in the place of learning. Yet again, and again, we still get up and we still go to school. We are resilient together.”

Third Place winner

“The Heart of the Ideal Community” done in Pencil by Sebastian Williams Lacy of Belvidere High School:

“I was inspired by the idea of everyone having equal chances. All people getting the respect they deserve.”

Sue Grover, chairman of the Sister Cities art showcase committee, said, “I am always impressed by…

For complete article, pick up the March 21 Belvidere Republican.