Window on a Wider World (WOWW) held its 10th annual Youth Art Show Saturday at the newly renovated Arts in the Sunset in Amarillo, showcasing the art of Texas Panhandle students from fourth to 12th grade.  

More than 220 students from more than 40 different schools across the Texas Panhandle participated in the annual exhibit, which had the theme of “Iconic” for this year’s young artists to work with. The students competed in three divisions, with 10 winners comprising elementary and intermediate grades in no specific order. For high school students, there were special awards for first through third place. 

Mary Bralley, executive director of WOWW, spoke about this year’s exhibit and theme. She emphasized the importance of the program because fewer than half of the school districts in Region 16 have a visual arts program. Families and students from as far as Perryton were on hand to show off their art. 

“We offer this program to help fill the gap for art that is not being able to be provided in area schools,” Bralley said. “Students had the freedom to choose anything they saw as iconic; it could be cotton candy, the Mona Lisa or whatever stands out as iconic to that person.” 

Bralley said that WOWW’s mission is to promote arts within the Texas curriculum to local students and to better equip them with the tools to fully integrate art, science, math and other subjects. 

“Many people do not understand that art is mathematical or scientific, or if you want to tell a story for your art, you need to know language arts,” Bralley said. “When we take students on a tour of the Globe-News Center, they can see that it’s an arts place, but the geometry of the way that it has to be built for the sound to come through is mathematics. So many students do not realize that art is mathematics and science, so it is giving them a unique perspective of the core things they are learning in school. Students are learning that it’s true when teachers and parents say you must use math in everything.” 

Ava Eidam garnered an award for the second straight year, winning the top prize. She was also on the West Plains High School team that won first place at Art in the Park in 2022. 

“Whenever I hear the word iconic, I really want to do my own spin on something already considered iconic,” Eidam said. “And since usually what I do is a lot of animals such as dogs, I am going to incorporate that into my art and kind of do my own icon.” 

Eidam said that it was really surprising to win, but it felt really good. 

Third-place finisher Yuna Iwai said that she wanted to do a piece painting her 5-year-old sister Hanna as her role model. 

“I really thought it was iconic to use her because she usually dresses up in the supermarket,” Iwai said. “I thought it’s super lively and free that she can dress up as whatever she wants to be and be really happy with it.”  

Iwai said that the contest made her feel accomplished, being recognized at her first show. She said that she felt good about her chances today. 

“This was a nice chance to see what it was like to be in a contest like this and grow my confidence,” Iwai said. 

Sadie Cummins’s unique take on Mount Rushmore scored well with the judges and earned her second place in the competition.  

“I wanted to do a landmark of some sort, and I thought Mount Rushmore was among the most iconic landmarks in the nation,” Cummins said. “I wanted to change it around some so that each of the four faces on the monument was presented at a different time of day. I feel good to be recognized today.” 

Funding for the program comes from grants and donations from individuals. With the beginning of this year’s Panhandle Gives fundraising campaign underway, WOWW is one of the many organizations that depend on the generosity of donations to cover costs as it brings art across the Texas Panhandle to help give children art experiences. 

“We want our kids to be confident in what they do,” Bralley said. “They might not be confident when solving math problems or be the best speller, but when creating, they become confident because there is no wrong or right. It’s what you see in your eyes and what you try to convey to others. We are definitely helping kids gain confidence, and along with that, they become confident in everything else they do.” 

For more information about the organization, visit https://www.woww.org/ .

The winners of this year’s WOWW Youth Art Show are as follows:

Fourth and Fifth Grade Division Winners 

Andrea Barba, Bivins Elementary School 

Apixious Grice, Texline ISD 

Diane Murrillo, Farwell ISD 

Hazel Aycock, Baker Elementary School (Canadian) 

Kimberly Argonez, Panhandle Elementary School 

Remi Bartlett, Baker Elementary School (Canadian) 

Rowan Green, Texline ISD 

Ruth Caldera, Rolling Hills Elementary School (River Road) 

Truitt Harris, Mimi Farley Elementary School (Boys Ranch) 

Vylette Zwick, Highland Park Elementary School 

Honorable mention: Gael Moreno, Travis Elementary School (Pampa) 

Sixth through Eighth Grade Division Winners 

Autumn Pinion, Fannin Middle School 

Carolina Nite, Crockett Middle School 

Chloe Pennington, Crockett Middle School 

Emma Wheat, Fannin Middle School 

Logan Ayala, Crockett Middle School 

Moises Sandoval III, Lorenzo de Zavala Middle School 

Lupita Toscano, Sudan High School 

Sadie Collins, Crockett Middle School 

Sophie Saysiri, Lorenzo de Zavala Middle School 

Sophie Welch, Crockett Middle School 

Ninth through 12th Grade Division 

First Place: Ava Eidam, West Plains High School 

Second Place: Sadie Cummins, Perryton High School 

Third Place: Yuna Iwai, West Plains High School 

Actziry S. Ballinas, Stratford High School 

Faith Spencer, Boys Ranch High School 

Mansel Limbaugh, Bushland High School 

Pedro Uribe, Perryton High School 

Phoenix Crume, Randall High School 

Regan Sullivan, Randall High School 

Toby Tabor, Bushland High School 

Honorable Mention: 

Austin Drake, Sudan High School 

Brody Young, Boys Ranch High School 

Fernando Silva, Perryton High School