Celebrate the Arts!

Superintendent Reykdal captured the essence of the 2021 Superintendent’s High School Art Show when he said,

“This year, we saw incredible work by young artists grappling with this moment, from the global pandemic to racism and social injustice,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal. “Their work is a testament to the power of the arts, and it is an honor to have the opportunity to see and celebrate the work of our students.”

If you’d like to be inspired by this showcase of arts education in Washington, you can see the entire program here. You can see all of the entries in this year’s art show here.

Beyond an abundance of amazing visual art, this year’s show also featured the performing arts. We’d like to thank the Blackhawk Singers from the Lummi Nation School, Ferris High School’s Advanced Percussion Band, student officers from WA Thespians and the Puget Sound All Girls’ Film Festival.

Additional highlights from the Art Show:

• This year art show award recipients will receive a special glass tile designed and made by students with Hilltop Artists with a wooden base crafted by students in the Rochester High School Career & Technical Education program.
• For the first time, Central Washington University presented the Art & Change Scholarship Awards, providing two students with $2,000 scholarships.

We appreciate the many, many people and organizations who come together to make the art show possible. In particular, we want to thank the coordinators of the regional art shows at the Educational Service Districts across the state, and the Washington Art Education Association (WAEA), who has been a longtime partner with the art show in recognizing excellence in the visual arts.

Thank you for all that you do in service of the arts in education,

Janet Hayakawa, Program Supervisor
The Arts - Dance, Media Arts, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
Janet.Hayakawa@k12.wa.us
Cell/Text: 360-764-6157

Superintendent's Choice Award

Taylor Yingshi “Parallels” 

Teacher: Mark Moody

Issaquah High School, Issaquah School District, ESD 121

Governor's Choice Award

Clover Navarro, “A Pause” 

Teacher: Janice Wagner

Bremerton High School, Bremerton School District, ESD 114

OSPI Staff Choice Award

Anna Ignatovich, “Being (series)”

Teacher: Dawn Wyatt

Lake Washington High School, Lake Washington School District, ESD 121

Call for Presenters: Deadline June 15th

The 2020-21 school year redefined what it is to be an educator in the modern world. Through this challenge, many opportunities for growth emerged.  Prepare for the 2021-22 school year with a focus on equitable practices and meeting the needs of diverse populations through creating, connecting, collaborating, and orchestrating change with colleagues. Learn more about this virtual conference (July 26-29^th) and submit a proposal for a presentation, here.

WA State High School Photography Competition: Deadline June 30th

This annual event is designed to showcase the work of student photographers in Washington state high schools. Selected photographs become part of a traveling exhibition. Watch this video to learn more.

_{Photo by Sohpia Judish, Stadium High School, 2020 1st place, Architecture}

Mentor a Student Artist

The Allied Arts Foundation of Seattle is seeking professional artists to serve as volunteer short-term mentors or coaches for their art student Block Awards winners.  These awards are distributed among 16 of Seattle’s high schools in five categories – visual arts, music, theater, writing, and performance.  Coaches should be willing to donate at least two hours of their time to give lessons and/or instruction to each of the students with whom they are matched. For more information, please email jeff@allied-artsfoundation.org. 

Arts Conference for PreK-Grade 3: August 3 - 5

Come play and learn! This free, virtual conference will celebrate joyful learning, wellness and creative possibilities in early learning. Participants will gain tools to integrate arts instruction, culturally responsive teaching methods and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) standards and practices into their daily work. ArtsWA, in partnership with OSPI and the WA State Teaching Artist Training Lab (TAT Lab) is hosting Arts Uplift! Click here for details and registration.