By: Nare Garibyan
On April 29, 2013, The Committee for Armenian Students in Public Schools, held an awards reception at the Glendale Unified School District headquarters for the 6th Annual CASPS Art Contest winners. Ten students from district high schools were awarded for their depictions of favorite films, which was this year’s theme. Ms. Nyrie Gharibian, the Technical Literacy, Fine Arts, and Media Arts teacher at Clark Magnet High School, invited each student to the front of the room, where the art work was displayed on easels, to describe their inspiration and mediums they used for their expression.
Along with the parents, the award recipients, and CASPS members, in attendance were Glendale Unified School District’s Assistant Superintendent Dr. Katherine Fundukian Thorossian, the District’s Board President, Nayiri Nahabedian, Mr. Doug Dall Principal at Clark, Lena Kortoshian, Assistant Principal at Clark Magnet High School, Dr. Sona Arakelian Assistant Principal at Wilson Middle School, and GUSD Administrator, Janet Buhl.
Hrand Der Sarkissian of the Armenian Education Foundation (AEF), one of the judges, artist Samvel Saghatelian, GUSD representatives, Dr. Katherine Fundukian Thorossian and Nayiri Nahabedian, and CASPS members presented each recipient with a monetary gift and recognition. The Best in Show award with a $150 check was bestowed upon Nelli Astvatsatrian from Clark Magnet School for her piece “Regrets of a Successful Man.” Seven of the students received $75 dollars each for their pieces. These students were Vardui Grigoryan, also from Clark who received the Best Digital recognition for “Untitiled”, Eric Zakharyan (Hoover High School) Best Graphics for “Spiderman”, Varand Aghakhani (Clark) Best Drawing for “Untitled”, Soseh Babayan (Clark) Best Depiction of Character in Digital for “The Hybrid”, Sareen Ayvazian (Crescenta Valley High School) for Best Painting for “The Long Haired Beauty in the Tower”, Elen Harutyunyan (Hoover High School) for Best Depiction of Character in Drawing for “Mad Hatter”, and Ani Saryan (Hoover High School) for Best Interpretation of a Movie for “City Lights.” Two honorable mentions were awarded; the first was presented to Alina Sargsian (Clark) for her piece “Undeadly Thirst” with a $50 dollar check, the second was presented to Yanna Pashyan (Clark) for “Merhuman” with a $25 dollar check.
The films that inspired the students included: The Art of Getting By, Modigliani, Spiderman, The Shawshank Redemption, Avatar, Tangled, Alice in Wonderland, City Lights (Charlie Chaplin), Twilight, and Little Mermaid respectively. Students used various mediums from graphite on paper, Adobe Illustrator, watercolor, melted crayon, colored pencils, and markers. Monetary awards were granted to the students by the Armenian Education Foundation.The judges for the 6th Annual CASPS Art Contest were artist Samvel Saghatelian and an independent curator Caroline Lais-Tufenkian. In his welcome remarks, Samvel praised the students for expressing their art and stated that “without art there is no life.” This concept was echoed by Dr. Katherine Fundukian Thorossian and Nayiri Nahabedian, who reconfirmed Glendale Unified School District’s commitment to the arts and the opportunities available to students to find their true passions.
