Art Contest Winners Travel from Across the U.S. to Space Symposium

The 36 winners of the 2013 Space Foundation International Student Art Contest were invited to attend the Space Foundation’s 29th National Space Symposium on April 10. Young artists from 12 countries were selected for the top slots from among more than 4,700 entries representing 45 countries, including 38 U.S. states and territories – the largest response since the contest began three years ago.

Five of the student artists and their families from across the U.S. toured the Lockheed Martin Exhibit Center and attended a reception in their honor, where they met former NASA astronaut Dr. Leroy Chiao.

Winning artists who attended were (pictured at right with Chiao, from top to bottom):

Raquel Arens
Air Academy High School, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1st Place, 9th-12th Grade, Digital

Skylar Duncan
The Colorado Springs School, Colorado Springs, Colo.
1st Place, 3rd-5th Grade, Painting and Mixed Media

Ananya Jain
Jericho Senior High School, Jericho, N.Y.
3rd Place, 9th-12th Grade, Digital

Bryan Montenegro
The Mirman School, Los Angeles, Calif.
2nd Place, 3rd-5th Grade, Digital

Vincent Zheng
SKA Academy of Art and Design, Duluth, Ga.
Grand Prize, 3rd-5th grade and
1st Place, 3rd-5th Grade, Drawing

Reception

At the reception, the students were able to see their artwork displayed, get autographs and photos with Dr. Chiao. They were presented with ribbons and prizes co-sponsored by Fisher Space Pen. Earlier that same day and prior to the reception at the Space Symposium, they were also treated to a tour of the Space Foundation Visitors Center, featuring Science On a Sphere^® located at the Space Foundation world headquarters.

About the Contest

The Space Foundation invited students from around the world in PreK through 12th grade to submit original artwork depicting the theme, If I Were Going…, challenging them to imagine how they would personally experience space travel, exploration or settlement and then interpret that idea into an original work of visual art.

TERRAHEART Project Once again Includes Winning Art in Launch to Space

Digital images of the winning artwork will travel to space this summer and take up residence aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Japanese program called TERRAHEART, which sends student art, poetry and writings into space. This is the second time TERRAHEART has invited the Space Foundation to send student art and the first time the art will travel to the ISS aboard a Japanese rocket. A DVD of the images will be launched by HIIB this summer from JAXA Tanegashima Space Center, in the southern part of Japan.

Where to See the Artwork

Winning artwork submitted can be seen on the Space Foundation website photo gallery here and at www.artsonia.com/museum in the If I Were Going… Space Foundation art gallery. Learn more about the annual Space Foundation International Student Art Contest here.

This article is part of Space Watch: May 2013 (Volume: 12, Issue: 5).