The high school student winners of the Hollywood Burbank Airport 2018 Tower Banner Student Art Contest from Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena Unified School Districts presented their winning artwork at today’s Airport Authority meeting. The winners were chosen from 235 entries across all three districts. Joining them were there art teachers and district art coordinators, along with many of the students’ proud parents.
Burbank High senior Ernest Avedian was the first place winner from the Burbank Unified School District. His Instructor at Burbank High is James Bentley. Two Juniors at Burbank High also took home second and third place honors. Abrielle Marsden was the second place winner and Narek Tashchyan placed third. Both of their instructors are Jonelle Pickett.
This is the eleventh year the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority has sponsored the contest for students of the respective Unified School Districts in Grades 9-12. Each year, the Airport Authority chooses a different aviation theme for the contest. This year’s theme was “Takeoff to a New Beginning.” In 2017, the theme was “Aviation Goes to Hollywood” and in 2016, the theme was “History of Aviation.”
Each school district determines which submissions are its top three entries. The arts and culture commissions from each city then consider the three entries and make the final award of the first place winners from their school districts, based on the judging criteria set forth in the Airport Authority’s contest rules.
The winning artwork from each school district is enlarged to a size of 16 feet by 26 feet for an approximately three-month display on the Hollywood Burbank Airport terminal tower, where it is seen by nearly a million travelers and Airport visitors as they arrive and depart.
Since the contest’s inception in 2007, $28,500 has been awarded to each school district in honor of the winning entries, with the stipulation that the award be used to help support and promote the districts’ education programs for the arts. This year, each district will receive another $3,000, bringing the total to $31,500 for each school district.
The winning entries displayed on the tower are rotated among Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena.
Second and third place winners, along with the first place winners, will be displayed in Terminal B beginning in June 2018. The display will feature background information about the contest. The second and third place winners’ artwork can currently be seen on the Airport’s website.
The contest is scheduled to begin again in September 2018. To be eligible to enter the contest, student artists must be enrolled in Grades 9-12 in the public high schools of Burbank, Glendale or Pasadena Unified School Districts. Students interested in participating should contact the art faculty or art department at their high school for details.
