Annual art contest provides way for students to express emotions

Karen [email protected] SALISBURY — In honor of National Public Health Week, the second annual Substance Use Prevention Art Showcase was held April 8 featuring the work of Rowan County middle and high school students.

The event, which was a collaborative effort between YSUP Rowan, the Center for Prevention Services and Rowan County Public Health, was held at the new Rowan Community/Events Center, 1935 Jake Alexander Blvd., Salisbury with awards presented during the evening.The entries were on display at the center during the evening, all based on this year’s theme of “Creative Expressions: Path to Prevention.



” The community was invited to come and see the artwork and support the youth.In a previous release, it was noted that the art contest was launched during the 2023-2024 school year and it was “created to provide students with a meaningful and creative outlet to express their perspectives on substance use prevention.”Kristen Estepp, YSUP Rowan project director, said there were 22 entries this year, up from six last year.

The 22 were a mixture of students from middle and school students in Rowan County and one homeschool student from the county.Estepp said that this was a big increase from last year. This year, they opened it up to middle schoolers, which they didn’t have last year.

“We invited middle schoolers this year to join us, and we’re so glad we did because we have some amazing middle school students that we work with that are here and that have amazing voices to share and who are leaders and aspiring leaders,” she said.They wanted to open up the contest to different types of mediums because people are good at different things. “We really wanted to open it up to any creative expression,” she added.

Last year’s theme focused on vaping, and this year it was an overall substance use prevention theme.“So I think this gave students more creative freedom to really express their feelings,” Estepp said, pointing out the descriptions of their work and how deep and meaningful they were.“We know that substance use is a problem in Rowan County.

We know it’s a problem our youth are facing, and so I think it shows that there are youth who want to speak up against it and they’re interested in prevention efforts,” she said.Student artists and their families plus some local school art teachers and guests arrived and walked around to see the work and enjoy refreshments and fellowship.About midway through the event, Estepp, along with Alexis Parson-Adams, the director of Prevention at the Center for Prevention Services, and Dylan Mott, public health education manager with the Rowan County Health Department, introduced themselves and then announced the winners of the art contest, which was broken up into six categories.

Each of the artists were recognized and asked to stand by their work prior to the announcement of winners. Estepp said that the voting was close. Winners, along with the category and work, their school and grade are as follows:Middle school digital, Amaya Juarez, a 7th grader at Corriher-Lipe Middle School, with her work titled, “Failure to Success.

”Middle school visual, Yaael Angeles, an 8th grader at Corriher-Lipe Middle School, with his work titled “No Mas!” (No More).High school digital, Giovanni Lopez, a 12th grader at Salisbury High School with his work, the work, “Always Fight Against the Urge.”High school visual, Jessie Starnes, an 11th grade homeschool student with her painting titled “Nicotine’s Affliction.

”High school literary, Olivia Reilly, a 10th grade student from East Rowan High School, with her poetry entry.Viewers Choice, Daniela Nunez Lopez, an 11th grader from Jesse C. Carson High School with her work titled “Maybe Next Year.

” Judging was done by their coalition as a whole, Estepp said along with their executive board. The youth council and the Youth Empowerment Team also had votes and some local artists also had a vote to provide that artistic perspective, she said.The Viewer’s Choice Award was selected that evening by those in attendance as they were presented ballots with the names of each entry and were turned in and tallied by Parson-Adams as guests mingled.

After winning the Viewer’s Choice Award winner, Nunez Lopez said that she had someone come up to her and tell her that they have “struggled with addiction,” and therefore, she said, “I’m glad that my art can connect them for that and help raise awareness for it.”Starnes’ work, which was a gouache painting, focused on the environment and how it is affected by one’s smoking, she said. She pointed out that the walls shown in the painting reveal they have turned yellow from the smoke and it also shows how it affects the individual in the painting.

That change can be mental as well as the physical as noted in the work.Juarez, who said she wanted to be an artist, came up with the split design because she wanted a person on top and a person on the bottom.”The two people, one showing how addictions can cause failure whereas the flipside shows that getting help and stopping can result in success.

Halle Fox, a seventh grader at China Grove Middle School submitted a drawing/poetry as her entry and said it meant a lot to her to be a part of the event.When asked where her inspiration came from, she said that she knows that people who “abuse substances zone out, they don’t really have the mindset that they need to. So I was thinking I can make a poem about that.

”Mitchell Todd, an 11th grade student from Salisbury High School, submitted a pencil drawing titled “Beat the Vape.” He said that his decision to enter started as a joke with friends and he told them that if his work turned out good enough to enter it, he would, “and it did,” he said, therefore, it was on display.Todd was one of four students from Salisbury High School and their art teacher, Kela Hunt, was there for the event.

Hunt said that many times people see others in the movies and think this is all cool and don’t see the negative aspects.“It’s not as cool as you think it is and what better way to illustrate it,” said Hunt, and this showcase provides a way for the students to “get whatever thoughts are in their head, let them get it out to a safe place,” he said.Seeing the crowd mingle and looking at each of the pieces of art on display, Estepp said, “it’s great seeing the community come out and all our different partners come out and support these kids.

Our overall mission is to make sure kids feel supported and that they have a safe space and work toward that overall goal to reduce substance use. Protective factors are having a community and having people show up for you.”Looking around the room at the artwork, Mott said that he thinks it shows that these young people “can really have a strong impact and show that they care about substance use and that it is an issue in the community and that they can use it as a creative outlet to express their emotions.

It’s just really cool and we’re just so excited that we had this growth this year.”As Parson-Adams introduced herself, she said the nonprofit she worked for serves six counties in the Piedmont region with Rowan being one of them.Mott expressed thanks to be partnering with Estepp and Parson-Adams, as he shared that he serves on the community health education team, working with positive youth development.

“We love that we get to make an impact on our local community and we get to see it come to fruition,” said Estepp.As the evening drew to a close, Estepp said they look forward to next year’s showcase and expressed hope that it would continue to grow.“Thank you all for being here and supporting our youth,” she said.

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