April 21, 2022—The Miller Art Museum announced at a free public reception held Monday evening the award winners for the Museum’s 48th Annual Salon of Door County High School Art, on display now through Monday, May 23, 2022. The multi-media exhibition features original work by students in grades 9 – 12 from the 2021-22 academic year who attend school at one of the Peninsula’s five high schools—Gibraltar, Sevastopol, Southern Door, Sturgeon Bay, and Washington Island.
Certificates of Participation were presented to all student artists by their respective art teachers. Award winners for Excellence and Honorable Mention were announced by Museum Curator Helen del Guidice during the awards ceremony at Monday’s opening reception, Awards of Excellence—a $100 cash prize—were presented to Makayla Ash (Sturgeon Bay), Isaac Rincones (Sevastopol), Christina Padilla-Volkman (Gibraltar), Anna Olson (Southern Door) and Joseph Lux (Washington Island). Six $50 Honorable Mention awards were presented to Jace Johnson (Sturgeon Bay), Inho Lee (Sevastopol), Wyatt Beaudot (Gibraltar), Kalissa Ambrosius (Southern Door), and Andrea Valentincic (Washington Island). In addition to cash prizes, the museum partnered with the Artist Guild and the Peninsula School of Art, courtesy of a generous financial gift through the Cramer Family Fund in memory of long-time art supporter Tricia Cramer, to offer all of this year’s awardees certificates for art supplies and instruction to further students’ individual artistic endeavors.
Award winners pictured from left to right: Anna Olson, Isaac Rincones, Kalissa Ambrosius, Inho Lee and Jace Johnson. Not pictured are Makayla Ash, Christina Padilla-Volkman, Joseph Lux and Wyatt Beaudot.
This gift also allowed the museum to double a contribution, which was initially made possible by the Door County Arts League, to each school’s art department. DCAL was a longstanding coalition of artists and art lovers who were committed to promoting the creative arts in Door County and supporting each other through mentoring, exhibitions, workshops, and fellowship. Upon the dissolution of that organization in 2016, the Miller was gifted of a portion of these funds specifically so that it could serve as a conduit for the support of students through the exhibit.
“We are grateful, and particularly excited this year for this partnership as we know the need is great, to be able to share the legacy of Tricia Cramer and DCAL by providing each high school student art department $200 towards the purchase of supplies for their classroom,” says Elizabeth Meissner-Gigstead, executive director.
This year’s awards, given as recognition for achievements in art class, were made possible by the following exhibit sponsors: Artists Guild, LLC, Kathy and John Campbell, the Cramer Family Fund in memory of Tricia Cramer, Dennis and Bonnie Connolly, Door County Medical Center, Barb and Mike Madden, Carl and Ruth Scholz and Hermke Timm, and additional support was provided, in part, by the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The 48th Annual Salon of Door County High School Art will be on view in the main gallery of the museum as well as on the Ruth Morton Miller Mezzanine through Saturday, May 23, 2022.