Congressman Mike Levin hosted this annual spring event to celebrate high school artists from throughout California’s 49th Congressional District.  

A panel of judges including Claire Kavaya Zach Cordner, and OMA Executive Director Maria Mingalone convened by Oceanside Museum of Art reviewed 236 submissions from 13 high schools and selected the pieces featured here for their creativity of expression, use of materials, and quality of presentation. The judges awarded First Place to Churn by Ethan Heck, a senior at Pacific Ridge School. After appearing here, it will be sent to Washington for display in the United States Capitol.

Many thanks to Arts Orange County for supporting the artists in this event.

Featured Artists:

Makena Bactat, Shalene (Shay) Blanchard, Wendy Cervantes, Henry Clare, Alana Cousens, Kennedy DiFiore, Keela Farnum, Hailey Frescas-Flores, Jesse Lopez Garcia, Angelica Garcia-Arellano, Ethan Heck, Bronte Kunkler, Sienna Lawrence, Augustine Lopez, Jacqueline Lopez, Brianna Mendez, Lucia Michel, Madeline Morton, Nicolas Nance, Yoselin Perez, Johnny Perez, Darcy Seaton, Coral Seipp, Eden Stambaugh, Skyler Taylor, Maria Tercero Tomas, Gino Trapasso, Gensis Vadial, Jaina Vaughan, Sofia Viernes, Braxten Young, and Jospeh Zabrocki

Honorable Mentions:

Zach Cordner first picked up a camera at just fourteen years old. He has worked for the likes of the Associated Press, Rolling Stone, Capitol Records, and Vans, and was an official Coachella Music Festival photographer. He is the Creative Director and co-founder of Osider Magazine. He also teaches an afterschool photography program at Oceanside High School, helping students learn the techniques of photojournalism and how to document the world around them..

Maria Mingalone is the executive director of Oceanside Museum of Art, where she began working in 2017. Her background includes not only expertise in curating and museum education, but also 25 years of progressive museum and nonprofit management expertise. She holds a Masters of Science degree in museum education and leadership from the Bank Street Graduate School of Education in New York, NY.