The votes are in!

Thank you to each and every one of our 119 different artists who submitted their artistic interpretations of "A World Without Racism" to the YWCA's first ever Eliminating Racism Art Contest. The contest and exhibit were a huge success! We appreciate the overwhelming community support of this unique event to further our mission of eliminating racism.

Each piece of artwork was judged based on its creativity and representation of the theme. Our judges reviewed so many innovative and compelling entries, they could hardly come to a decision! The winners in each age category were:

K-2 First Place: Olivia Burch - "We Are All Friends"
K-2 Second Place: Samantha Lawrence - "I Love All Colors"

K-2 Third Place: Hannah Gibson "Everyone Welcome"
3-5 First Place: Quinci Day Shavers - "And We Did"
3-5 Second Place: Morgan Stalnaker - "A World Without Racism"
3-5 Third Place: Oliver Bear - "Untitled"
6-8 First Place: Mallory Burka - "A Chorus of Different Colors"

6-8 Second Place: Rebecca Kozak - "A World Without Racism"

6-8 Third Place: Peyton Panger - "Love Your Neighbor"

9-12 First Place: Molly Bloom - "Hands to Bob"
9-12 Second Place: Sarah Hopkins - "Change"
9-12 Third Place: Michalene Crockett - "Equality"
Adult First Place: Dwayne Bevins - "A Simple Slushie Transcends Color"

Adult Second Place: Rebecca Burch - "Skinscape"
Adult Third Place: Alex Morgado - "Diversity Brightens the World"

And the overall Best in Show was Quinci Day Shavers for her inspirational and colorful portrait of President Barack Obama "And We Did" (pictured above). Look for her artwork gracing the cover of the spring YWCA newsletter!

Special thanks to the Clay Center for hosting our open house and part of this week-long exhibit. Also, thanks to our judges (Susan Poffenbarger, Hallie Dunlap, and Kayte Brannon) for their participation and their thoughtful decisions.