2022 Civics Award Competition
2022 Competition Theme: “Using Your Voice”​
To promote student voices, we are hosting a Civics Award Competition and accepting submissions in the following sections: Visual arts, critical essay, creative writing, musical instrument, and song. Submissions should be emailed to cjiang24@lawrenceville.org and tgupta25@lawrenceville.org no later than October 31st, by 8:00 pm.
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Click HERE for all details related to the Civics Award!
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Thank you to this year's competition judges for supporting Democracy's Day Civics Award:
Mr. Stuart Robertson (Visual Arts)
Ms. Chloe Kalna (Visual Arts)
Ms. Jennifer Parnell (Critical Essay)
Ms. Maggie Ray (Creative Writing)
M. Victoria Stitt (Creative Writing)
Mr. Stephen Rozek (Song/Musical Instrument)
Submission Gallery
Please find all submissions to the 2022 Civics Award competition below! The winners will be announced in an all-school email next week on November 15th!
Visual Arts Category
Dots Becoming ONE (Louis Park)
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Artist Statement:
Even at this moment, many conflicts and issues are taking place in the world. Like it or not, we live in it, and we live by putting this world within us. To make the world a better place, we need to have our voices heard. We communicate our thoughts and opinions with the world through social media, and we express our opinions through democratic voting. In this way, we express our voices in our own different ways. Although our single voice may be small in a large world, these small voices can be a great driving force to shape and change the world. My voice as an individual comes out in writing and visual arts. In a world with so many conflicts, I learned that using my voice to contribute to the society that we live in is necessary. I express my ideals and doubts in the world through words and drawings. I also get to communicate with others and express myself through social media.
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In this democratic country, how I digest the world and communicate is completely free. And this freedom allows me to raise my voice as an educated member of society. This painting is not to express my political view but it's about an individual who has to make a choice digesting and experiencing these current events. He gets to make a choice by voting but also influencing others through his visual arts and writing in art form and also in social media.
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Dots of various colors and sizes can express both happy and sad sides. Just as these innumerable points are gathered and they must make their own voices and play their own roles to achieve great work, democracy also emphasizes that it can bloom only when individuals make their own voices in their respective places and our civic consciousness can grow further. And I expressed myself wrapped up in a global issue in 2022 through the clothes surrounding me. The way the pencil holds it represents how the artist uses his voice in words and art, and this painting itself is my one voice.
The Split Self (Sofia Keith)
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Artist Statement:
The Split Self; the inevitable product of political polarization. As humans, we are complex-thinking beings, whose opinions, ideals, and visions for a better future are highly intricate and unique to every individual. How each of us thinks our society should be run is a vast and varied combination of personal values and life experiences, all infinitely distinct from each other and yet undeniably correlated at the same time.
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However, our current democratic system forces us into the unnatural division of ideologies. Are you Left or Right? A Republican or a Democrat? A Liberal or a Conservative? Be careful, because your answer to this question will automatically determine whether you are supportive of the LGBTQ+ community or trans-phobic. It will decide if you are a communist set on the downfall of the private industry, or a capitalist reinforcing the segregation of socio-economic classes. It will tell us if you are pro-choice or pro-life, anti-masker, or simply anti-vaxxer. It will place you in a box and classify you as “this or that” under every imaginable category.
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This artwork represents how the polarization of the political parties dismisses the harmonious duality of our thinking and flattens our 3-dimensional selves into 2-dimensional beings. The girl in the portrait suffers from being split in two, as can be seen by two different versions of herself contrasting each other both in color and composition. However, these polar opposite personas both emerge from the same origin; the mind, the most personal encapsulation of individual thought, is an overlap between the two. As we engage in our civic duty and become active participants in our democracy, we must remember that we are intricate thinkers with a range of values and beliefs that are impossible to fit under a single category. We must remember that the political representatives we support do not completely represent each of us, and in using our voice we must honor the uniqueness of our individual thought.
Unzip What is Locked (Adrian Carlisi)
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Artist Statement:
In this piece for Democracy Day, I am representing my feelings toward the power of voice. Certain ideas such as ideas of hatred, fear, and injustice cause the mouths of some to be closed and in ways “zipped” as demonstrated by the words to the left of the male in the picture. Yet, with powerful voices bringing ideas of hope, empathy, and acceptance it helps unzip those locked and silenced mouths and encourages people to vote. Voting is the best way for humans to bring in the change that they feel is needed in our society, express themselves, and help the world continue to be progressive.
Modern Modifications (Fifi Xu)
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Artist Statement:
In my opinion, an eagle is the most fitting symbol of democracy. An eagle is strong, intelligent, and most importantly, it is free when it soars through the sky.
Critical Essay Category
Click the submission titles to read the essay entries!
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Using Our Voice (Miranda De Olden)
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I Love Thee, [Insert Politician’s Name]. Lovest Thou Me? (Yewon Chang)
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Political Donations: Why Our Democracy Favors the Ultra-Wealthy (Remko Wang Kuijis)
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Creative Essay Category
Click the submission titles to read the essay entries!
The Relationship and Influence - Video Essay (Michal Tuczapski)​
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Artist Statement:
My work shows that the decisions that we make are the results of the environment that we live in. Sometimes we do not even realize who has an influence on us, and on the decisions that we make. People that influence us for example may have an effect on how we are going to vote on Election Day.
​I can feel it in my Soul - Poem (Tabara Fall)
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Artist Statement:
"I can feel it in my Soul” is a poem I wrote last year for an English assignment for which we had to write a piece on a song that meant a lot to us. The song I used was “Stand Up” by Cynthia Erivo, from the 2019 movie “Harriet” about the life of the brave and revolutionary figure, Harriet Tubman. The idea of the song and my poem is to stand up and pave the way for change and freedom, which is how it directly embodies the theme of “Using Your Voice.” In the poem, I describe how this chant makes me feel and how it inspires me to stand up, take up space, and use my voice like Harriet Tubman once did. The verses in italics are from the song, and I sing them when presenting this poem — which I did for my class.
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The People Belonged - Poem (Tabara Fall)
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Artist Statement:
“The People Belonged” is a golden shovel poem after the poem “Famous” by Naomi Shihab Nye. The line I used from that piece is “The loud voice is famous to silence, which knew it would inherit the earth before anybody said so.” That line speaks volumes in and of itself, however, I wrote a poem of an entirely different meaning, using each of Naomi Shihab Nye’s words at the end of each verse. In the end, my poem, “The People Belonged,” addresses the theme “Using Your Voice” by discussing the impact and importance of using your voice for change. “The People Belonged” addresses everyone’s inherent place in the world, and subsequently, their place in spaces where decisions are made.
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2022 - Poem (Luke Park)
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Another Day, Another Dictator - Play (Sydney Wang)​
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Who Gets to Vote? - Reflection (Sofia Bonilla)​
Song/Musical Instrument Category
"Già il sole dal Gange" (Sydney Wang)
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Artist Statement:
This is a classical piece I chose to sing as its translated lyrics talk about affecting others with your voice by providing hope.
"Rewrite the Stars" (Mahika Kasarabada and Simran Rath)
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Artist Statement:
Upon looking beyond the premise of the song titled "Rewrite the Stars" from The Greatest Showman, there seem to be a few implications indicating the possibility of changing or rewriting what has already been written. We took on the roles of two lovers, both of whom have encountered many obstacles. The strong bond between the man and woman in this fairly popular duet demonstrates the numerous effects involvement in relationships can have on empowering one another. Oftentimes, one can be unwilling to make those transitions, but with the support and guidance of another person, it's easier to find the strength to make adjustments towards new beginnings, "rewrite the stars" and ultimately empower one another to drive change.
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