Submitted by San Juan Island School District

Friday Harbor High School art students dominated Northwest Educational Service District 189 Regional Art Competition in Anacortes. During the awards ceremony on Friday, March 15, our students won four out of the eight top awards and earned $4,000 in art scholarships. Winning half of the total awards in our district is impressive considering our students have to compete against 4A schools who are much larger and allowed to enter more pieces.

From OSPI’s website: “The Superintendent’s High School Art Show is an annual event co-hosted by OSPI and the Washington Art Education Association. High school students from all nine of the state’s educational service districts participate in this artistic celebration each year. The finalists from these regional ESD shows are invited to participate in the Superintendent’s High School Art Show.”

Out of the four students who entered artwork, three students were awarded scholarships. Soma Andrews received $2,000, and Annamarie Thomas and Lucas Chevalier each received $1,000 scholarships. Their work moves onto the Superintendent’s High School Art Show in Olympia where they will compete against the regional winners from the entire state.

In addition to the NWESD Regional High School Art Competition, two FHHS students won Silver Awards at the Washington state’s Scholastic Art & Writing Competition. Soma Andrews and Katie Place attended the awards ceremony with their families at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. Their art was on display in the gallery along with other award-winning pieces.

Andrew Anderson, FHHS visual art instructor, stated, “I’m extremely proud of our young artists and the amazing images they create. Their hard work and dedication earned them the distinction of being among the top high school artists in Washington State. I am confident they will do well at the state competition in Olympia.”