Yosemite National Park and The Ansel Adams Gallery sponsored a Gateway Expressions Student Art and Poetry Contest in September of this year. The park received a record 230 submissions from local community schools. Artwork was divided into categories and winning pieces were selected by park staff and park partners. Winning student artwork and poetry will be featured in an exhibit at The Ansel Adams Gallery from Thursday, October 23, through Saturday, October 25, 2014. Additionally, students will be acknowledged at a special awards ceremony on Saturday, October 25, 2014, at The Ansel Adams Gallery, from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The contest is a way for the park to celebrate the creativity of youth in the Yosemite gateway communities. The contest is open to all students, grades K-12, who attend school or youth programs within the gateway community school districts of Yosemite National Park. This year the contest featured artwork from a record number of gateway communities including Bass Lake Joint Union, Big Oak Flat Groveland Unified, Bishop Unified, Chawanakee Unified, Eastern Sierra Unified, Mammoth Unified, Mariposa Unified, Raymond-Knowles Union, the districts of Tuolumne County, and Yosemite Unified.
Students submitted a wide range of art and poetry including collages, paintings, and photography showing Giant Sequoias, Tunnel View, Glacier Point, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, and many others. Additionally, students submitted poetry about experiencing the park as a Yosemite animal or plant and their experiences in the park.
Contest winners include:
- Kindergarten & 1st grade art: Xavier Austin, Ivan Valera Pelayo, Karmella Hanley, Hannah Stark, Marley Gediman, Lyell Marcis, Adeline Woods, and Hannah Benson.
- 2nd & 3rd grade art: Bailey Lipsey, Lusa Andrews, Daniel Wilson, Scarlett Kerr, Mercy Littlejohn, Jacob McCabe, and Eva Smerber.
- 4th & 5th grade art: Autumn Stock, Makaya Mackie, Kaitlyn Fisher, Uriah Martinez, Isabeau Ostly-Vasquez, Camille Fisher, Abby Silva, Mia Coffman, Malachi Shelton, Celianna Lee, Todd Sexton, and Kaeli Sheffield
- 6th-8th grade art: Sierra Stalter, Ashley Roland, Jaiden Stansberry, Clara Devlin, Nathan Kunz, Jocelyn Stansberry, and Aiden McKillip
- 9th-12th grade art: Katie Thompson, Alexane Laforme, Brittany Shay Davis, Natalie Marquez, Maria Loya, Dillon Acker-James, Emma Stowell, Shanie Lane, Leah Patino, Brian Moore, and Sara Thiel
- Group Art: Ruby Yager & Ava Dunlavey, Alex Kunz & Nathan Erikson, Lucas Pieper-White & Beck Westerlund, and Emmanuel Rodriguez Martinez & Ivan Vargas Alvarado
- Anniversary Category: Calliope Kerr & Sydney Jacobs, Lottie Messick, Skadi Lyle, and Shelsy Marquez
- Kindergarten & 1st grade poetry: Wawona Lawler
- 2nd & 3rd grade poetry: Erica Wohlgemuth, Makenna Bolton, Shea Ludwick, Wyman Fisher, and Ryan Sandoval
- 4th & 5th grade poetry: Colton Franklin, Kalei Reed, Emma Fries, Jasmine Starner, and Joey Star
- 6th-8th grade poetry: Lasen Andrews, Patience Nelson, Claire Lewis, Kiersten Lott, Sage Shields, Electa Clark, Remi Fuller, Catherine Gacho
- 9th-12th grade poetry: Breeze Leal, Alyssa Cabada, and Shiloh Quincy
- 2nd & 3rd grade photography: Ben Raines
- 9th-12th grade photography: Elizabeth Haggard and Peter McLean
