Meramec Students Place in 100 Neediest Cases Art Contest
Illustration students Kari Jo Moore, Tim Wu, Israel Binder and Olivia Shoemake all placed in the top 40 of the competition, which means their work will be published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The art contest is an arm of the 100 Neediest Cases charitable campaign, which assists hundreds of needy families in the St. Louis area during the holiday season. The contest invites high school- and college-level artists to submit artwork depicting the sick, poor, disabled, homeless or any other variety of citizens in need. Hundreds of area students submit to the contest every year.
In total, 11 students from Chuck Groth’s illustration class participated in the competition this year. Groth, associate professor of art, has included the competition as part of his Illustration I class for more than 10 years.
“It’s a valuable project for my students,” said Groth. “They learn important illustrative and visual concepts, but even more importantly, students gain a deeper awareness of community and giving, and see the real impact their artwork can have to do good. And for most of these students, it’s their first real published illustration.”
Moore placed third in the competition.
“I feel amazed and honored,” Moore said. “Working through this piece prayed heavy on my mind and heart. It was hard to focus without getting emotionally involved, knowing all of these things are actually happening in the community.”
Binder, who placed 22nd in the competition, looked at past winners before creating his artwork.
“I saw the majority were done in black and white, and focused on the negative of the subject,” he said. “I wanted to take a risk and do a colorful, uplifting piece.”
All the top 40 submissions can be found on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch online.
All the submissions for the contest will be displayed at the Missouri History Museum through Jan. 9.