April 24, 2001

WINNER OF CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT NINE ART COMPETITION CHOSEN

Oakland, CA - Congresswoman Barbara Lee joined a panel of judges on April 7th to announce that "Frutas De Otono" by Holy Names High School senior AnJeanette Garcia was chosen as the winner of the 20th Annual National High School art
competition. "Frutas De Otono" will head to Washington, DC in June for the opening of An Artistic Discovery, a year-long exhibit sponsored by more than 300 Members of Congress.

"In a time when many people may be intimidated to even draw on a blank piece of paper, I found it refreshing that this young
artist created a collage of paper as a beginning," said Jack Da Silva, one of the judges for the competition, and himself a local artist. "The process of aesthetic exploration was enhanced by de-constructing the picture plane, reassembling it and then
developing it into a finished composition."

52 high school students from the 9th Congressional District of California, which includes Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland and Piedmont, entered the competition. While only the winning artwork will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol, Lee pointed out that the local exhibit will continue throughout the month of April at the Junior Center of Art and Science in Oakland.

"I am very pleased that, thanks to the collaborative efforts and support of several organizations and individuals, we will have an opportunity to celebrate and reward the artistic accomplishments of all our students." said Lee. We are very proud to have AnJeanette’s work represent the Ninth Congressional District in the U.S. Capitol during the An Artistic Discovery exhibit.

"This art contest is very important for our community because it supports artistic expression and rewards high school students
for their outstanding accomplishments," said Lee. "We need to remember that activities such as art, music and sports are essential to students’ development and to our sense of identity, community, and pride."

In addition to the winning work of art, six honorable mentions were announced. The honorable mentions went to Elliot Glass, Jessica Lam, Joanna Criddle, Mariana Goodin, Noah DePietro, Nathan Cox, all from Oakland. Each student received a Congressional Certificate for their participation from Congresswoman Lee.

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