Originally published in Daily Local News

By MediaNews Group

WEST CHESTER—Nearly 500 works of art were on display at the 2019 Chester County High School Art Festival and 7th Congressional District Art Show. The week-long show kicked off on Thursday, April 11 at the Chester County Art Association, and ran through Saturday, April 27.

The non-juried show featured artwork by students throughout Chester County. In addition, this year's entries were also simultaneously submitted for Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan’s Congressional Art Competition for students living in the 6th District of Pennsylvania. Each spring across the nation, members of the U.S. House of Representatives 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 Congresswoman Houlahan’s district offices.

James Nasar, a twelfth grader at Conestoga High School, won the first place Congressional Award. “It feels amazing to win first place,” said Nasar. When asked what inspired him to create his piece, he said, “I played around with the idea that you don’t need to use your eyes to improvise while playing music – it’s more about the feeling and less about reading music. My friend who plays the trombone modeled for me and I used mixed media to create my piece.”

Ariana Shchuka from Exeter Township Senior High School won the second place Congressional Award and Amelia Rehrman from Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School (PALCS) won the third place Congressional Award.

“I am blown away by all of the amazing work the students create. I like to look at the grade level of each piece, and am always amazed by what the students in the younger grades create. Kudos to all the art teachers and school districts. They work so hard and it’s wonderful to see what they come up with,” said Wendy Kershner, Executive Director of the Chester County Art Association.

A free reception and awards ceremony took place on Tuesday, April 23, during which the Congressional Art Competition and Chester County Art Association Awards were presented. A full list of winners can be found at www.cciu.org/artshow.

The Chester County High School Art Festival is coordinated by the Chester County Intermediate Unit.