Pictured, from left, are award winning WHS art students Jacqueline Werstler, Kyle Herr, Katelyn Tower, Ezra Miller and Trysten Tucker. Not pictured is Reannon Hopkins.

SOUTH WHITLEY — The Whitko High School Art Department recently competed in the 2018 Scholastic Art Contest in Northeast Indiana and Northwest Ohio. Over 3,000 entries were submitted from 200 schools.  

Whitko High School art students won 7 Scholastic Awards; 2 Gold Keys (National Finalist), 2 Silver Keys and 3 Honorable Mentions (also known as Outstanding Regional Awards). The 2 gold key winning art pieces will now compete for national honors in New York.

“I’m proud of my students’ pursuit for excellence. They should be proud for receiving any of the awards!” said Daniel Malicki, Whitko High School art instructor. 

The 7 overall winning pieces will be on display at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art from February through April. Opening night for the event is Feb. 11. According to the FWMOA’s website, the exhibit will feature “hundreds of paintings, drawings, sculptures, graphics, photographs, mixed-media projects and all genre of written pieces, each expressing topics that inspire creative teens today.” The FWMOA’s Scholastic region has collected one of the highest in national awards totals in the county for the past 4 years.

For students at Whitko whose art may go on to win national honors, they could soon be joining the ranks of renowned artists such as And Warhol, Robert Redford, and Truman Capote. To learn more about the events at the museum, simply visit their site at fwmoa.org.

WHS Winners listed below:

• Gold Key Art: Senior Ezra Miller, painting Cry and Whines
• Gold Key Art: Sophomore Trysten Tucker, drawing Devistation
• Silver Key Art: Junior Katelyn Tower, drawing Reflections
• Silver Key Art: Senior Kyle Herr, painting Out of this World
• Honorable Mention: Senior Kyle Herr, drawing Lunar Pit Stop
• Honorable Mention: Senior Jacqueline Werster, painting Gazing
• Honorable Mention: Senior Reannon Hopkins, painting Pixel Me Wild