Many locals in Venice don't realize there's a recognized arts competition for kids right in our backyard at the local branch of the Boys & Girls Club that's become a launch pad for many national contest winners. Once a year, Boys & Girls clubs across the country participate in a contest divided into four age categories ranging from nine and under up to 18, with nine different art mediums represented in a group category.
Although Venice boys & Girls club Art Director Lalo Marquez is not a fan of contests, he encourages all young artists at our local branch to enter. Each year from January to March, three to 12 local judges select young artists for the regionals, to then potentially compete at the national level in Atlanta. The contest draws up to 10,000 individual entries nationwide.
Local photographer and president of the Venice Arts Crawl, Sunny Bak, a three-time judge for the competition. "It is a wonderful thing to have our Boys & Girls Club nurture future artists and teach them a way to express themselves and given them an outlet for creativity, instead of boredom," says Bak. "Lalo is such an advocate for kids, period."
Sandra Zebi, a ceramic artist and second-time competition judge, calls Marquez one of the most passionate instructors she has met. "He's an artist, but he always puts the kids first. I like that the kids feel comfortables to be themselves," Zebi says.
One of the local contests winners, Angie De La Rosa, age 15, created a piece entitled "My Life." Angie says that when she first came to the Boys & Girls Club she was carrying so much in her heart she didn't know how to share it. She would have talks with Marquez, and one day he asked, "Would you like to make a painting?"
"I thought it was just going to be something to get my mind off, I didn't know I would have so many ideas," Angie says. She found herself able to express herself without anyone telling her what to do or judging her story. She says she hid behind her art at first, but as more kids asked her about it, she realized that she wasn't afraid, and actually wanted to explain the meaning behind the painting.
Bak points out that the subject matter of the art created by these young artists is incredibly diverse, and the children draw from a variety of ideas. "It's inspiring watching these kids do such great work at such a younger age," says Bak, who has just been nominated as the 2019 Woman of the Year by Assemblywoman Autumn Burke for her district.
Bak mentions two paintings that intrigued her, by sisters 8-year-old Simone and 9-year-old Cecilia Yeu. Simone chose to create an Eiffel Tower because her mother is from Paris and she had never tried making one. Her sister, Cecilia, created a cat and a mouse in space, winning second place in her local age category. She will head to the regionals.
"Lalo teaches us a lot of stuff and he encouraged me to enter the contest for the first time," says Cecilia. Marquez provided advice on how to create the shape of the cat to make it realistic. For her background, she chose space because she loves space, but clarifies that she knows a cat is not actually going to be in space.
Cecilia enjoyed how the sisters got their picture taken in front of their artwork while the judges were there. "It doesn't really matter if you're being judged, it matters what you think," she says, adding it was a "really fun" experience. Cecilia wants to work as an artist when she grows up, and Simone would like to go into fashion design.
Two boys who entered the contest are Joseph Cotton, age 17, a local winner in the oldest age category, and Victor Quero, age 15, a notable entry. Both entered the competition for the first time, packing their large works with meaning and social commentary. Joseph painted about a challenging personal experience having to do with matters of the heart entitled, "Not Giving Up on Love." Victor painted a picture of rappers Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shukar titled, "Icons." He says, "When I see this painting it gives me the courage to follow my dreams and push myself past my fears."
The winners of the individual painting medium going on the next level are:
Age 9 & Under: 1st Lyonne Reyes, 2nd Cecilia Yeu, 3rd Bodhi Rogers
Ages 10-12: 1st Sophia Cueva, 2nd Cash Elis, 3rd Sarah Valasquez
Ages 13-15: 1st Angie De La Rosa, 2nd Raigan Irons, 3rd Syren Hudson
Ages 16-18: 1st Joseph Cotton, 2nd Virginia Villala, 3rd Hannah Velasquez
The sole contender in the sculpture category Lux LY, age 8, she will automatically go on to the next level for her sculpture, "Endless Sound," of a record player.
by Jennika Ingram as published in Venice Living Magazine, April 2019
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