Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
High school artists featured
WEST CHESTER » Over 300 high school students across Chester County and beyond displayed their artwork at the 2022 Chester County High School Art Festival and 9th annual Congressional District Art Competition. The weeklong show kicked off April 8, at the Chester County Art Association, and ran through April 25.
This year’s entries were simultaneously submitted for Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan’s Congressional Art Competition for students living in the 6th District. Each spring, across the nation, members of the U.S. Houses sponsor a high school art competition, with the grand prize winner having his or her artwork displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year. The second and third place artwork will be displayed in Houlahan’s district offices in Reading and Washington, D.C.
Shurti Bedekar, a senior from West Chester Henderson High School, won the first place Congressional Award.
“I’m just overwhelmed. I was not expecting this at all, but it feels amazing,” said Bedekar.
When asked what inspired her to create her piece, she said, “Because of COVID, my art teacher offered additional art classes over the summer. We sat in Everhart Park in West Chester, and she told us to draw anything around us, so I drew the house.”
The second-place winner for the congressional show was Jia Lin from Conestoga High School; in third place was Leah Nicberte, also from West Chester Henderson High School.
A free reception and awards ceremony took place April 20, during which the Congressional Art Competition and Chester County Art Association Awards were presented.
“In the current art class that I am taking, you have leeway to create whatever you want. So, I knew that I wanted to do another oil painting,” said Kayla Dembrak, first-place category winner from Great Valley High School.
When asked how it felt to see her artwork win a firstplace award in the 2022 Chester County Art Festival, Dembrak said, “It feels really nice. I worked super hard on it, so I’m glad that it was recognized tonight.”
The Chester County High School Art Festival is coordinated by the Chester County Intermediate Unit. To see a full list of the art show winners, visit www. cciu.org/Art-Show.