24 Teens Win 9th Annual Holocaust Museum
Art & Writing Contest

Close to $3,000 in cash prizes were awarded to 24 winners of the 9th Annual Holocaust Museum and Learning Center’s annual Art and Writing Contest at a recent awards ceremony at the Holocaust Museum Theater in the Jewish Federation Kopolow Building. There were more than 600 entries, from middle schools and high schools from throughout the Bi-State area. Students from public schools, religious schools of several faiths and home schoolers participated in the competition.

And for the first time, three art classes – grades 6, 7, and 8 – all taught by Ms. Elaine Eversgerd, Hazelwood West Middle School, will be recognized for their communal project; artworks based on the theme, “I never saw another butterfly.” According to Ms. Eversgerd, the art represents, “the spirit of the children who lived in Terezin Ghetto and left their artistic legacy to inspire us.  Like the butterfly they fly with freedom and beauty through our memory.”

According to Rachel Katzman, contest committee chair, “The judges were especially challenged this year by the quality and quantity of the submissions.  Paintings, drawings, collages, videos and sculptures were submitted in the art category, while reports, poetry, reflective essays and short plays were submitted in the writing category. Many of the entries were powerful, moving, thought provoking and creative.”

Daniel Reich, HMLC curator and director of education, noted, “This contest, now in its
9th year, provides students who have visited the Museum or studied the Holocaust in their classrooms the opportunity to respond in a creative way to this difficult, though important, subject matter. We are so grateful to Dr. Ira and Judy Gall for their ongoing support for this significant outreach education program. As in previous years, the contest is dedicated to the memory of the 1.5 million children who perished during the Holocaust.” 

Winning submissions will be displayed at the Sheldon Art Galleries on a date in September to be announced, and other locations to be determined.  In addition, the entries can be seen at the Holocaust Museum and on the Jewish community website www.jewishinstlouis.org.
 
Judges for the art entries were John Lesser, retired curator of the art gallery, JCC and JCC Cultural Arts Staff, Mary Ann Srenco, arts community leader, and Roseann Weiss, Regional Arts Commission.

Judges for writing were L. D. Brodsky, award-winning poet, Dana Humphrey, Holocaust Museum educator and St. Louis teacher, and Sandy Snodgrass, retired teacher, currently with the St. Louis Community Colleges.
 
Winners of the 2011 Art and Writing Contest are:

VISUAL ARTS- Division 1 Middle School
FIRST PLACE- $300
One Voice For Truth
Josiah Stull
Homeschooled
7th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Elizabeth Stull

SECOND PLACE- $200
Never Again
Heather Nelstead
North Kirkwood Middle School
8th Grade
Teacher: Melissa Banjak

THIRD PLACE- $100 - TIE
Kirsten
Rachel Barefield
St. Alban Roe
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Jan Ward

THIRD PLACE-$100 - TIE
The Gate
Shawn Semmler
St. Mary’s Catholic Grade School
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Debbie Caulk

HONORABLE MENTIONS- $25
Etched In Memory
Alexis Doll
Hazelwood West Middle School
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Elaine Eversgerd

Through My Eyes
Madeline Johnson
Fort Zumwalt South Middle School
8th Grade
Teachers: Ms. Sandra Haese and Ms. Michell Wilson

Caged Like Animals
Drew Muckerman
St. Catherine Laboure
6th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Linda Jo Hauf

Forgotten History, the London Conference of 1945
Jack Watkins
Nipher Middle School
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Dorothy Oden

SPECIAL CLASS RECOGNITION
I Never Saw Another Butterfly Project
Emily Alberts; Nicole Clintsman; Kyle Comparato; Allison Crawford; Amber Davis; Alexis Doll; Andrea Gann; Rose Goldschmidt; Connor Jones; Abie Lofstrom; Brandon Moore; Jessica Napolitano; Cody Peth; Chris Roberson; Laura Rousseau; Annie Russell; Hope Walden
Hazelwood West Middle School
6th, 7th, and 8th Grades
Teacher: Ms. Elaine Eversgerd

VISUAL ARTS- Division 2 High School
FIRST PLACE- $300
Holocaust Fractal
Timothy Kuklo
Lafayette High School
12th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Pamela Senti

SECOND PLACE- $200
Loss of Innocence
Josh Keen
Blue Ridge Christian School
12th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Kendra Kennedy

THIRD PLACE- $100
Apathy Is the Enemy
Tolen Oliver
Kirkwood High School
11th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Kim Foster

HONORABLE MENTIONS- $25
The Cost of Liberation
Ashton Boessen
Fatima High School
11th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Sonya Walker

Learn From the Past. Teach the Future.
Donovan Holle
Nashville Community High School
12th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Sara Kollbaum

To Be Good
Devante Swopes-Clay
Kirkwood High School
12th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Kim Foster

Broken
Emily Thornburg
Westran High School
12th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Amy Owen

WRITING- Division 1 Middle School
FIRST PLACE: $300
Just a Number
Ciara McDaniel
Fort Zumwalt South Middle School
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Elaina Knapp

SECOND PLACE: $200
Dear Death
Abby Larson
Crestview Middle School
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Patricia Stiehr

THIRD PLACE: $100
Sad Tales
Marissa Mitchell
Fort Zumwalt South Middle School
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Rebecca Dohrman

HONORABLE MENTIONS: $25
Cocoon
Jillian Collis
Rockwood South Middle School
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Dee Dickinson

Sunflower Seeds and Hope
Caroline Frank
St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
8th Grade
Teacher:  Ms. Nancy Coughlin

WRITING- Division 2 High School
FIRST PLACE-$300
Missouri
Mikayla Petchell
Eldon High School
9th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Deb Sash

SECOND PLACE- $200
The Graceless
Myra Stull
Homeschooled
10th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Elizabeth Stull

THIRD PLACE- $100
Psychology of the Holocaust: A Naturalistic Approach
Chris Barkau
Nashville Community High School
12th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Sara Kollbaum

HONORABLE MENTION- $25
The Psychology of Murder: An Analysis of the Nazi Psyche and the Consequences of Ignorance and Racism
Andrew Biermann
Nashville Community High School
12th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Sara Kollbaum