Each month we spotlight a teen at CPL.
Emily G. likes to create art with a message. Her portfolio stood out because she's such a strong writer, and obviously thought a lot about her art. One juror noted it looked like you were experimenting with the cropping process and the colorful pills were fascinating. Jurors were particularly impressed by Emily's commitment to explore contemporary social issues, including addiction to media; gender labels and expectations for dress style. For instance, "a flower crown" shouldn't be labeled as "feminine" or "masculine."
Emily's piece, "Bittersweet" examines different emotions experienced after seeing two completely different scenarios - one is at the beach, and calming and peaceful, while the other is chaotic and deadly, making the subject shed a tear. Emily hoped viewers would see "there's always a positive and negative to anything that happens."
The 2016-17 Teen Winter Challenge Jury participants, detailed below, wish Nancy continued success in her journey as an artist:
- Ade Abioye of Chicago Public Library's Teen Services Department
- Christine Bespalec-Davis, Education and Programming Manager at the National Veteran's Art Museum
- Hillary Cook, Assistant Director of Youth Programming at the Art Institute of Chicago
- Joel Javier, Education Manager at Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art
- Joshua Slater, Teen Programming Manager at Hyde Park Art Center
- Matt Egan of Chicago Public Library's Literature and Language Department
- Robin Willard of Chicago Public Library's Teen Services Department
- Sasha Neri of Chicago Public Library's Maker Lab and General and Information Services Department
