Scholarship Winners

Handcrafters was proud to take part in the recent Fairfax County Public Schools 2023 Regional Scholastic Art Awards. It was held on March 1 at the Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale Campus, in the Ernst Cultural Center. There were over 600 attendees. At that time, we were able to award our art scholarships to two student artists.

The $2000 award went to Anna Klimenko, a Senior at Marshall High School. Anna works in acrylics, and she wants to attend an art college, although she is not sure of what career she will personally pursue. In her own words: "Part of being an artist is hearing all about how little money you'll make and what limited opportunities there are but I feel determined to work something out." She looks, too, to study art further in Europe.

The $4000 scholarship went to J. Victor Seymour. He is currently a Senior at Lake Braddock Secondary School. Upon graduation, he hopes to go to NOVA for 2 years and then transfer to VCU, although that plan is not set in stone. Victor wants to continue his work in 3-D animation. And in his words: "My focus is on surrealism, with typically non-humanoid themes, and sound dependency."

Karen Bowes, the NVHG Scholarship chair had these words to say: “I cannot tell you how thankful each of the recipients was for NVHG's scholarship award. Seeing their work and the work of many of the other students was so uplifting and very reassuring. Nice to know that the arts are alive and well, aptly carried by the next generation.”