More than $2,500 in cash prizes will be awarded to 24 winners of the Holocaust Museum & Learning Center’s 17th Annual Art & Writing Contest at an awards ceremony Monday, May 13, at 7 pm in the Holocaust Museum Theater in the Jewish Federation of St. Louis’ Kaplan Feldman Complex.

Nearly 500 submissions came from California to Florida for the contest, with winners representing six states, including 13 winners from Missouri.

Rachel Katzman, Chair of the Art & Writing Contest committee, stated, “Each year we are thrilled to see the originality and thoughtfulness of the submissions. Clearly, the students are responding creatively to what they have learned about the Holocaust.”

As in previous years, the contest is dedicated to the memory of the 1.5 million children who perished during the Holocaust and in honor of the Galls’ grandchildren.

Winning submissions will be displayed in the Holocaust Museum Theater and at other locations to be determined. Judges for the visual art entries were members of the arts community, Jeff Hartz, John Lesser, and Jill Rosenberg. Judges for writing were Andrea Brownstein, Sandy Snodgrass, and Richard Jackoway.

Winners of the 2019 Art & Writing Contest are:

Visual Arts – Division 1, Middle School

First Place: $300
Colorful Stories
Lauren Bickel
Selvidge Middle School (Ballwin, Mo.)
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Rebecca Durbin

Second Place: $200
Standing Together
Stacia Talbott
Selvidge Middle School (Ballwin, Mo.)
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Laura Conklin

Third Place: $100
Auschwitz
Anish Lanka
Selvidge Middle School (Ballwin, Mo.)
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Rebecca Durbin

Honorable Mentions: $25

Untitled
Sadie Avakian
East Pennsboro (Pa.) Area School District Middle School
7th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Michele White

Barely Human
Alex Deiters
St. Margaret of Scotland (St. Louis)
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Lisa Cummins

Untitled
Jacob Schaper
Fortitude School (home school in Alton, Ill.)
7th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Christy Schaper

VISUAL ARTS – Division 2, High School

First Place: $300
Striped Sorrows
Abigail Jarvis
Canton (Mo.) R-V High School
10th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Staci English

Second Place: $200
Life in Auschwitz
Bryan Lopez
Pattonville (Maryland Heights) High School
12th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Marcia Mueller

Third Place: $100
Suffer the Innocent
Kelly Hill
Pattonville (Maryland Heights) High School
10th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Marcia Mueller

Honorable Mentions: $25

“Why Me?”
Jenna Christeson
Civic Memorial High School (Bethalto, Ill.)
11th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Suze Gibson

What Lies Within
Taryn Geiger
Civic Memorial High School (Bethalto, Ill.)
11th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Suze Gibson

“Work Sets You Free”
Josie O’Dell
Pattonville (Maryland Heights) High School
12th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Marcia Mueller

Innocence and Guilt
Gracie Reid
Lebanon (Mo.) High School
9th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Elizabeth Hutton

Curatorial Award: $100
Carrying Her Memory
Jonathan Levi Tamen
Miami Beach (Fla.) Senior High School
9th Grade
Teacher: Mr. David Reese

WRITING – Division 1, Middle School

First Place: $300
The Grain of the Wood
Aubrie Marian
Parkway Southwest (Manchester, Mo.) Middle School
7th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Angela Riley

Second Place: $200
Why Me?
Megan Smith
Hancock Place (St. Louis) Middle School
8th Grade
Teacher: Mr. Michael Adreon

Third Place: $100
The Ashes
Gabrielle Sansoucie
Central R-3 (Park Hills, Mo.) Middle School
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Mary Coleman

Honorable Mentions: $25

Oma’s Story
Simran Kulkarni
Eagle View (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) Middle School
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Brenda Reed

Twining Rope
Sierra Glassman
Ocean Grove (Boulder Creek, Calif.) Charter School
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Maggie Edge

WRITING – Division 2, High School

First Place: $300
Ghostly Colors
Audrey Montanez
Saint James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.)
9th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Alli Jordan

Second Place: $200
The Bird Sanctuary
Kate Wexell
O’Fallon (Ill.) Township High School
9th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Kathy Ashby

Third Place: $100
My Tie to this Earth
Elizabeth Khemraj
Saint James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.)
9th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Alli Jordan

Honorable Mentions: $25

The Lost Sock
Rachael Dziaba
O’Fallon (Ill.) Twp. High School
9th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Kristen Schuhardt

2,500 Risks
Raven Weathers
Canton (Mo.) R-V High School
10th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Staci English

For additional information, contact Dan Reich at DReich@JFedSTL.org or 314-442-3714.