Kathy He of MHS wins 2015 Congressional Art Competition

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) recently announced that the winner of the 2015 Congressional Art Competition for the Northern Mariana Islands is Kathy He. A team of local artists chose He’s work from among 43 entries submitted by high school students from Rota, Tinian, and Saipan for the annual competition.

He’s work, titled “Spring’s Color,” depicts a butterfly poised on a flower. Her multi-media pastel and watercolor will be displayed for a year at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., alongside the winning art from congressional districts around the country. He, who enjoys drawing from nature, credits both her junior high and high school teachers for the quality and technique of her artwork. “My teachers are very supportive,” He said.

Kathy He’s multi-media pastel and watercolor work, titled “Spring’s Color,” depicts a butterfly poised on a flower. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Kathy He is a sophomore at Marianas High School. Her entry in the Congressional Art Competition was one of 19 submitted by her MHS art teacher, Justin McAllister.

“We are very fortunate that our Northern Marianas schools continue to support students’ involvement in the arts,” said Sablan. “Schools around the country have cut back on music and drama and the visual arts in response to budget constraints. Here in the Northern Marianas we are still able to help our young people develop their creativity through the arts, which is essential to their overall education.”

This is the seventh year that students from the Northern Mariana Islands have been able to participate in the Congressional Art Competition. A record 43 artists from Rota, Tinian, and Saipan submitted entries.

“It only makes the judges’ job more difficult to have so many wonderful works to choose from,” Sablan said. “And I really appreciate the time our artist-judges volunteered for this event.

“Nevertheless, I am going to encourage students to begin thinking now about entering the competition next year. Maybe we can break the record again.”

The Congressional Art Competition is open to high school students grades 9 through 12. Their work may be in a variety of media: oil, charcoal, watercolors, pencil, photographs, collages, prints, or computer-generated art.

Since the competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 students nationwide have competed for the honor of having their work exhibited in the walkway that connects the Cannon House Office Building to the U.S Capitol, where Members of Congress, staff, and tens of thousands of visitors annually pass by.

Previous winners from the Northern Mariana Islands include Su Jeong Kim, Krisna Balolong, Hannah Alcordo, Bryan Jose Deleon Guerrero, Aaron Tomokane and Rosanna L. Camacho. (Office of the Delegate)