Suffolk Sister Cities International held its 30th Young Artists and Authors Showcase awards on Tuesday evening, and it featured 109 artists and 54 authors from all Suffolk high schools.

The theme for the art show was “Art of Diplomacy.”

“The theme was open to student interpretation, and most of them gave us their inspiration for their artwork,” said event chair Linda Dolan. “It was really great, because all the art was very different in all the different mediums.”

Mayor Linda T. Johnson was in attendance to present the young artists and authors their awards.
“Right now, it is important to have youthful ideas, and we need to be listening to our young people,” Johnson said.

The event featured 31 winners total in different categories — poetry, essay, drawing, painting, 2-D mixed media, photography and computer-generated art, Sister Cities Choice and Best in Show.

The art and literature were judged by professionals in their respective fields. Denise Murden, Bertha Escoffery and Wendy Miller Edwards were judges for literature. Nancy Dempsey and Dana Adams were judges for the artwork.

The artwork was judged on originality, composition and theme interpretation.

Five awards were given out for the poetry category.

Kristen Gerton, King’s Fork High School, and Aidan Watts, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, both were honorable mentions in the poetry category.

Alyssa Goden, King’s Fork High, Maddie Dumaran, Nansemond-Suffolk, and Bridget McKneely, Nansemond-Suffolk, were awarded first, second and third place respectively.

Four awards were given out for the essay category, and all four winners attend Nansemond-Suffolk Academy.

Lillian Hendrickson was awarded honorable mention. Alex Wilkerson, Grace Rowell and Davis Lydon won first, second and third place respectively.

Six awards were given out in the drawing category.

Martina Viola, Nansemond-Suffolk, Grace Russell, Nansemond-Suffolk, and Lauren Patterson, Lakeland, were awarded honorable mentions.

Jada Lynch, Nansemond River, Min Guen Ju, Nansemond-Suffolk, and Mariah Pope, Lakeland, all won first, second and third place respectively.

Six awards were given out in the painting category.

Sevastian Karlov, Nansemond River, Roy Espinal, Lakeland and Luke Jackson, Nansemond-Suffolk, were all awarded honorable mentions.

Sarah Brazil, Nansemond-Suffolk, Alex Bivins, Nansemond-Suffolk, and Tatiyahna Blakely, Lakeland, won first, second and third place, respectively.

Five awards were given out for 2-D mixed media.

Savastian Karlov, Nansemond River, and Sierra Martinez, King’s Fork, were awarded honorable mentions.

Alina Liton, Lakeland, Sarah Connor, Nansemond-Suffolk, and Savannah Stevenson, Forest Glen Middle, won first, second and third place respectively.

Four awards were given out for photography and computer-generated art, and all four winners attend Nansemond-Suffolk Academy.

Austin Hardee was awarded honorable mention. Will Luther, Dharav Barot, and Paul Elias Dowd won first, second and third place respectively.

Chiara Bargelessi, Lakeland, won the Sister Cities Choice Award. The award was chosen by the board of Suffolk Sister Cities International.

Alina Liton, Lakeland, won Best in Show for her 2-D mixed media titled “Powerful Woman Around the World.”

Finalists in poetry, essay and best in show will all go on to the District of Columbia for a final round of judging.