“My piece is a traditional Chinese brush painting on rice paper. I focused on the importance of hair, which is significant in showing who I am, and my identity as an Asian American. Confucius believed that hair is gifted by parents. With this idea in mind, I chose to connect the hairs of my parents to mine to thank them for their sacrifices and hard work.”
“The chains represent society holding us as a group back from reaching piece and equality (with race, sexuality, gender, etc.;) The hands symbolize everyone fighting for it. The way they are almost touching is how, us as society, are almost at that point but not quite there yet. I chose this category is because with being part of the LGBTQA+ community I know how scary it can be to be in this period of time. With other people also being judged for being in multiple communities I can imagine how much scarier it can be for them. With doing a bit of research to learn more about what is happening in our government it’s not good. Especially with the number of young people that are not voting. I made this secondly as a reminder to vote this election.”
“Being part of a group is always validating and finding someone else with the same point of views or same problems feels so warm to the heart. With pride month coming around the corner I really wanted to emphasize the importance of togetherness, and acceptance. Being a part of the LGBTQA+ community, I have always found comfort knowing that there are others out there like me, and others that are embracing their individuality and self worth. It is so important to appreciate representation because oftentimes in media and society a lot of cultures are oppressed. When those who are oppressed come together it is like a magical feeling of hope, the hope that things can turn around and the world can become more accepting. I loved doing this piece because I tried my best to show that togetherness that people feel when they are surrounded by others who understand the joys of embracing oneself.”
“My entry shows grey thunder clouds as the bully that says negative comments about traditional Mexican culture. The Calavera symbolizes that even though someone can strike us like thunder with their hateful words, we will still be proud of our culture and keep practicing it. Our culture is beautiful, and others do not understand what it means for us. As a young boy, my siblings and I would practice traditional Mexican dancing. When we would put on our traditional makeup and outfits, we get looks and comments like what I included in my entry.”
mental help and having more people being more supportive of getting help and reaching out to others. The blue flowers are iris that represent hope and the butterflies represent change, the green ribbon is shown as the “O” in hope.”
“There is an old Chinese belief called the “Red Thread of Fate”, which is an invisible red string wrapped around the fingers of a pair of soulmates. It connects these two soulmates regardless of place, time, or circumstance in the hopes they will finally come together. I heard this story when I was a small child, and it has stuck with me ever since. The queer/LGBT community has faced countless obstacles that prevent us from freely loving our partners and ourselves, yet we always find our community and each other through the challenges. We bring light into each other’s lives and seem to always make our way back together. I wanted to create a piece of art that emphasized the community that queer people make no matter the circumstances, and how this community adds meaning and love to our lives. In this painting, a hand holding a lit match reaches to light a candle cupped in the other person’s hands. This match lighting the candle is a literal recreation of how queer people add light into each other’s lives. In this painting, a red string tied around a finger of each hand sprawls across the canvas. This red string is from the belief I mentioned earlier, and in this painting, it symbolizes how queer people always find their way back to one another and are never truly alone. More than anything, I wanted to make a piece of art that young queer people can see themselves in and find comfort in b knowing we will always be more than one, and always be a community.”
“My entry is about the generational trauma black kids inherit and how the struggles of their ancestors affect them today. My painting depicts a black woman on the water which is a reference to the fact that most black people don’t know how to swim because their parents didn’t know how, as their ancestors were banned from public swimming pools because slave owners were afraid, they’d swim to escape slavery. Acknowledging the trauma inflicted onto black people because of how their ancestors were oppressed as well as attempting to provide hope and comfort in the message we shouldn’t let that define us is the main focus of my painting, and I hope it’s understood.”
Pandemic. The service that these workers provide fills me with hope, because despite their high risk of getting the virus, these farm workers resiliently grow and harvest the food we consume. The hard work of these workers ensures that we will have food and resources during this uncertain time. I hope that these people who labor so hard for others do not get sick and that those who benefit from their work appreciate it and make healthy food choices.”
“My piece is a drawing of protestors standing up for the Black Lives Matter movement holding signs that give information on how individuals can be an ally to the movement. The people in the drawing also have different skin colors to show that everyone can be involved in the BLM movement to be an ally and stand up for justice.”
be the first woman as well as the first woman of color to serve as Vice President. Whether you like her as a person or not, you can’t deny that this is a big moment in history. Many people have hope that this will be a huge step towards gender and racial equality.”