Young Audiences of Houston and MOCA Recognize Excellence Among Houston's Student Artists

The Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs and Young Audiences of Houston is honoring the six students whose submissions to the Mayor's Art Scholarship competition of 2023 earned them scholarship prizes. The competition invited 11th and 12th grade students to submit original works of art over the course of the Fall semester that engaged the competition's theme: Neighborhood and Identity. From a total of 129 submissions, a distinguished panel selected three juniors and three seniors representing five school districts to receive a scholarship prize. The six scholarships total $13,000.

“This opportunity not only fosters and recognizes student visual art that captures cultural identities and features of life in Houston, but highlights again how Houston supports creatives,” stated Mayor Sylvester Turner. “This year's winners submitted compelling visual explorations of how places, people, and other features of their neighborhood hold significant meaning for them and their community and it was a pleasure exhibiting their works at City Hall.”
 

About the Scholarship Winners

A student at Seven Lakes High School and a recipient of one of the three junior scholarship prizes, Swetha Murali showcased the diligent and often under-appreciated labor performed by farmers in rural India. Ziying Ye, a junior winner at George Ranch High School, captured the close relationships between her neighbors and their ranch animals. The final junior winner, Jolade Buraimoh of Hasting High School, offered a colorful and textured perspective on the significance of beadwork to her Nigerian heritage.

Hannah Kim of Memorial High School received the third-place senior scholarship prize for her vibrant depiction of public transportation in Houston, using it as an allegory for the city's diversity. In her highly creative submission, which was awarded second place, Bellaire High School senior

Katelyn Ta used geometry and perspective to represent her experience finding community and the co-construction of identity and place. First-place winner Yeo Jin Lee, a senior at Stratford High School, created a refined and exceptionally thoughtful abstract depiction of Houston's Chinatown.

More information about the Mayor's Art Scholarship and this year's finalists as well as photos of their submissions may be found using the following link: Mayor's Art Scholarship 2023.

About Young Audiences of Houston

Young Audiences of Houston, a Texas nonprofit corporation founded in 1956, is an independent chapter of Young Audiences, Inc., the nation's leading arts-in-education nonprofit and the first recipient of the National Medal of Arts. Its mission is to educate and inspire children through the arts. Visit www.yahouston.org to learn more.

About the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA)

The City of Houston Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs guides the City's cultural investments with policies and initiatives that expand access to arts and cultural programs in the community, attract visitors and leverage private investment. Learn more at www.houstontx.gov/culturalaffairs and follow us on Facebook and Instagram @HoustonMOCA.