Cabarrus students honored in congressional art competition

CONCORD- Cabarrus County students were among those honored by U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08) during an awards ceremony and reception held at the Cabarrus Art Council Monday, May 2.

The students were honored for their participation in North Carolina’s Eighth District Congressional Art Competition.

“We had a lot of incredible artwork submitted this year,” said Rep. Hudson. “In fact, we had the highest participation in the entire North Carolina delegation. Our students’ creativity, intelligence and passion can be seen in each piece they created, and I’m proud of them for sharing their talents with our community.”

Marisa Chapman of Mt. Pleasant High School won second place in the competition and Abigail Wise of Concord First Assembly won third place. Both of their artwork will be displayed in Rep. Hudson’s Concord office.

In addition, F. Valerie Nieto Aguirre of Concord High School was the recipient of the “Fan Favorite” award, which went to the submission with the most “likes” on Facebook. At the time voting closed, Aguirre’s artwork had 612 likes.

Karina McMillan, a student at Lumberton High School, won first place.

McMillan’s piece, titled “Hello,” was selected by an Arts Advisory Committee made up of artists from the district. McMillan and one guest will have the opportunity to visit Washington, D.C. to participate in the national ceremony with other winners from congressional districts across the country. Her artwork will also be displayed for one year at the U.S. Capitol.

“I look forward to showing off our district’s artwork to visitors in our offices and admiring Karina’s artwork while it hangs in the U.S. Capitol throughout the next year,” Hudson said.

Honorable Mentions were awarded to Hannah Atkinson of Mt. Pleasant High School, Kaylan Chavis of St. Pauls High School, Noah Wenle of Concord First Assembly, and Mary Lauren Willis of Northwest Cabarrus High School.

To view all of the entries visit this page.