Eike Mussig Contreras | We Are One
Felina Hans | Unity and Pride
Dana Corbo | Teamwork Set in Stone
Yuna Horie | No Matter How We Are Different
Madeline Lafflam | Not Everything is Black or White
Gabrielle Brown | A Moment of Gabbi
Online Only
Scottsdale Sister Cities Association: Young Artists and Authors Showcase
Scottsdale Arts Learning & Innovation's FIRST online exhibition!
Apr 3 - Jul 31, 2020
Scottsdale Arts Learning & Innovation’s FIRST online exhibition!
Exhibition Details
Members of the Scottsdale Sister Cities Association (SSCA) serve as citizen ambassadors, creating networks and partnerships with eight sister cities around the world. Their Young Artists and Authors Showcase encourages Scottsdale teens to express the SSCA mission through original artwork and literature.
“One World: Out of Many, We Are One”
In these times of uncertainty, isolation, and disruption, our communities struggle to maintain positive connections and optimism. Our friends and colleagues in sister cities around the world seem further away than ever. More than ever, we see the urgency for our nations to work together in harmony, lifting each other up, encouraging compassion, and defining resiliency.
Building bridges of international understanding and goodwill, members of the Scottsdale Sister Cities Association (SSCA) serve as citizen ambassadors, creating networks and partnerships with eight sister cities around the world. Through student programs and educational, cultural, and business exchanges, SSCA aims to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation—one individual, one community at a time.
The SSCA Young Artists and Authors Showcase encourages teens to express this mission through original artwork and literature. Scottsdale students are invited to interpret an annual theme and compete in the local showcase. Participating artists and award winners are celebrated through this exhibition, with the First Place winner advancing to the international competition in Washington, D.C. Winning entries at the international level are displayed at the Sister Cities International Conference and travel in a yearlong tour throughout the United States.
This year’s theme, “One World: Out of Many, We Are One,” asks students to explore creative ways that we create peace through people-to-people interaction. In what ways can different nations come together during a time of physical separation? We turn to our creative youth and their forward-thinking ideals to hopefully bring us closer to a unified world.
This exhibition is organized by the Scottsdale Sister Cities Association, Scottsdale Artists’ School, and Scottsdale Arts Learning & Innovation.
Selected for Exhibition
Eike Mussig Contreras | We Are One, 2019
Colored pencil on paper | Saguaro High School | First Place
What inspired me to create this work was my friend. Personally, I have many foreign friends, and they have told me that they have not been treated well due to their nationality. Because of this, I have decided that my work can speak for them and encourage them not to listen to all the criticism because, at the end of the day, “We Are One.”
Dana Corbo | Teamwork Set in Stone, 2019
India Ink and colored pencil on paper | Chaparral High School | Second Place
I liked the idea of collaboration resulting from a common goal, so I wanted to depict this type of teamwork with a project. The idea of art seemed fitting because of art’s central role in culture.
Madeline Lafflam | Not Everything is Black or White, 2019
Colored pencil on paper | Chaparral High School | Third Place
Hands help us in everyday life regardless of what we look like or where we are from. The use of monochrome emphasizes unity, as deep down, we are all the same. The knot in the back ties the entire world together.
Felina Hans | Unity and Pride, 2019
Acrylic on mirror | Saguaro High School | Scottsdale Artists' School Fine Art Camp Scholarship
Each individual on this planet has some sort of way they contribute to society; everyone is a part of the bigger picture. Hands are particularly for making, developing, and feeling. We all have the power to shape our world with our hands, and they show what we are about and where we have been. I wanted to include as much diversity as possible, ranging from economic status to sexuality, because rather than defining the separation among people, I think celebrating our differences brings everyone together.
Yuna Horie | No Matter How We Are Different, 2019
Collage | Coronado High School | Honorable Mention & Scottsdale Artists' School Fine Arts Camp Scholarship
I’m a Japanese exchange student, and I am currently studying abroad here in Scottsdale, Arizona. I’ve faced many challenges and cultural differences, but every time I laugh hard with my friends. I feel like our friendships get much stronger, regardless of our gaps in cultures or backgrounds. I made this piece with collage to represent cultural diversity and how we are different from one another, and all those pieces make up smiles.
Gabrielle Brown | A Moment of Gabbi, 2019
Colored pencil on paper | Chaparral High School | Scottsdale Artists' School Fine Arts Camp Scholarship
I wanted to find a way to incorporate different things that I love in my self-portrait so that this piece could be something that really captured me.
Alexandre Jeunot | Perception, 2019
Pen and ink on paper | Chaparral High School | Honorable Mention
I saw the image online and thought it was very deep and insightful. Since all humans originally come from Africa, I also thought it would be perfect for the “One World: Out of Many, We are One” theme. This is supposed to show all humans origins.
Waverly Pressel | Far from Home, 2019
Acrylic on canvas | Chaparral High School | Honorable Mention
I was inspired by a quote by Carl Sagan that said, “The cosmos are within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.” I interpreted it as we all are made up of stars, and together, we are one.
Danielle Sharkey | World's Kitchen, 2019
Watercolor on paper | Chaparral High School | Honorable Mention
The process of cooking is one of the only concepts universally understood by all cultures. Taking the idea of combining unique ingredients into one, harmonious result, I wanted to create a feeling of international collaboration and innovation.
Matthew Thomas Goodwin | One Gamer, 2019
Markers and colored pencil on paper | Coronado High School | Honorable Mention
When I play my video games, it helps me escape the daily issues I may have. I can be stressed and feel a lot of anxiety at school, and gaming allows us teens to let go of those things and focus on having fun with the games. What I like about games is that you can play other people and meet others from all over the place. Other than a video game name and maybe my voice, they don’t know much about me and can’t judge me based off my home life or skin color. We are all just humans that enjoy the thrill of gaming and can let go of our issues without judgment.
Yuka Sasaki | Hadashi (Barefoot), 2019
Pastel and colored pencil on paper | Coronado High School | Honorable Mention
I am an exchange student from Japan, and this artwork represents my biggest culture shock: that American people wear their shoes inside their house. However, one day, my host sister went outside without putting her shoes on, and I found this funny that kids sometimes do the same thing in Japan. I worked on this piece with the thought that even if we have different cultures, we still have the same playfulness. Out of many, we are one.
Jill Pond | Mother of Peace, 2019
Acrylic on canvas board | Saguaro High School | Honorable Mention
My mom inspired this piece. Growing up, she made sure I understood the importance of equality and love. The woman in the picture is her, representing a beacon of peace for all the countries in the world. The children behind her stand for future generations of peace and equality. The setting that I chose to put them in is an olive tree field, which is a representation of the olive branch.
D. J. McIntyre | Duties Around the World, 2019
Pastel on paper | Saguaro High School | Honorable Mention
In each panel, a chore is being done by different people of all ages and colors; it shows happy people enjoying their jobs. The first panel shows a jolly young child holding tight to the leash while walking the dog. The second depicts a young toddler admiring a pop-up book with palm trees. In the third, a person is riding his bike to take his huge baskets to the market to sell; his facial expression and strong wave show how he loves his job. In the final image, four active students of different nationalities are brought together by their duties.
Adyson Amaya | Remember Me, 2019
Acrylic on canvas board | Saguaro High School
The world around me is so beautiful; it is sad to see it crumble because some humans can’t agree with each other. Without everyone working together, there is no chance of keeping Earth in one piece.
Kayla Bailey | Crazy Hair Day, 2019
Colored pencil and marker on paper | Chaparral High School
My inspiration was the creative minds of children. This is why I surrounded my self-portrait with color and designs you would see from a child because we lose our creativity as we grow, and I chose to keep it with me.
Athena Behar | We're All Mad Here, 2019
Gouache on paper | Chaparral High School
I was inspired by my love of fairytales and the secret meanings behind them. I thought the concept of Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter worked well with the prompt because it shows how united and crazy the world can be through a creative and opposite universe, especially through the Hatter’s most famous line, “We’re all mad here.”
Alanna A. Andrade | Keep Us Centered, 2019
Mixed media | Coronado High School
I was inspired to create a piece that represents items we have in common between us and yet still visually demonstrate the very contrasting types of people. We are all the same internally and yet can have very different things we are compassionate about. We have internal struggles of right and wrong, neat and chaotic, different personalities, and try to find a balance between each. At the end of the day, our feelings, in my opinion, are what keep us centered.
Laura Jones | Stepping Into the World, 2019
Acrylic on canvas | Chaparral High School
The ocean connects the world together. I incorporated it in my piece to show symbolism and texture. Since I was adopted, I was inspired to illustrate a mother guiding her child to the unknown ocean. The child is taking her first steps in the sand in order to take part in the connectedness with the rest of the community.
Lauren Duckworth | Thrive & Grow Together, 2019
Colored pencil on paper | Saguaro High School
I wanted to show people that together we can thrive and grow collectively. The figures have strength together and reach up toward the bright sky because they are thriving. The flowers represent how beautiful it is when people unite to be able to make themselves one with the piece.
Sistine Iraya Lewis | Roots, 2019
Charcoal on paper | Coronado High School
I feel everyone is the same, just like plants. There are all different types, but they’re rooted all in the same ground. All over the world, you’ll see different plants, but they’re rooted in that country, so it holds a culture type. The reason this piece has no color is because we are the same; we don’t need a color (skin) to define who we are.
Joy Xia | From Now On, 2019
Mixed media | Chaparral High School
Despite everything that’s happening in the world right now, I believe we all have more similarities than differences. We could share these similarities and bond over them going forward. I decided to draw a girl symbolizing the earth releasing a dove to express this hope.
Ivan Davalos | Holidays, 2019
Colored pencil on paper | Saguaro High School
When “One World” was presented, our school had just come back from winter break, where most people celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, etc. Then while brainstorming many ideas of different traditions, I thought many people and families are brought together spending time during the holidays, and this can be seen as a time of peace and prosperity throughout the world.
Ariel Mansey | Legacy, 2019
Colored pencil and marker on paper | Saguaro High School
This piece is based off the idea that youth are an accumulation of many generations of different kinds of people from different places, the joining together of all of past generations’ hard work, something every nation has participated in.
Dominic Dicon | Symbols of the World, 2019
Acrylic on canvas | Chaparral High School
What inspired me to do this work was mascots that represent different places, things, sports, or companies. Each mascot came from somewhere and represents the country they are known for.
Jaeda Knighton | Unified, 2019
Gouache on paper | Chaparral High School
I wanted to do a piece about unification. I like the idea of cultures coming together to become something bigger than themselves. That is why I put a galaxy as the background to incorporate a sense of a large purpose for humanity.
Katherine Caminiti | Sandy Cultures, 2019
Acrylic on canvas board | Saguaro High School
Many different things inspired my work. This topic was very difficult considering our world is very united especially recently. In that case, I made the meaning hidden deeper in my work. My piece may just look like a group of kids building a sandcastle on the beach, but there is more to the story. I made each kid from a different culture around the world. The kids are faceless therefore no one stands out, indicating that “out of many, we are one”. I chose to do a sandcastle because when I was younger, I would go to the beach a lot and there would always be kids that I didn’t know offering to help work together to build a beautiful sandcastle. I added a sunset to represent ending the day in a beautiful way while working together.
Chloe Judge | Colors of the World, 2019
Gouache on paper | Chaparral High School
I am really inspired by hands in art. Since the concept of this project is unity in the world, I wanted to paint hands of different races coming together to represent we are all one, we can love one another.
Maggie Hong | Merge, 2019
Mixed media | Saguaro High School
What inspired me to create this work is the beauty of all eyes. Different shapes and colors make us different, but also makes us one. The glass in my piece is for the viewer to be able to make themselves one with the piece.
Exhibition Space Prior to COVID-19. ArtReach Space is currently closed to the public.
ArtReach Space
The ArtReach Space is a community gallery that showcases work in response to social issues and concerns and also offers a window into Scottsdale Arts and city of Scottsdale art programs. The ArtReach Space is located across from Stage 2 inside Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 East Second Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85251. It is open to the public Tuesday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon – 5 p.m.; and during evening performances.
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