Diversity Art Project

• 1st place: President’s Award – Carlie Pooler, A Frameless Picture

• 2nd place: Deans’ Award – Melanie Banks-Scrudder, The Dreamers

• 3rd place: Faculty/Staff Award – Rochelle Holgate: Rooted Glory

• 4th Place: Students’ Award – Josie Savnik: Coming Out Together

Contestant 1

Artist Name: Melanie Banks-Scrudder
Title of Work: The Dreamers

Artist Statement

I would like to preface with the fact that I am a proud US citizen and was legally married to an undocumented Mexican man with whom I had a Mexican American child. Prior to my marriage, I volunteered to assist mobile clinics with providing healthcare assistance to the undocumented migrant farm workers at the farms and their trailer park communities. The immigrants that I met were a hardworking, loving, generous, family-oriented, and grateful people.

I chose to create a work that breaches the subject of something I hold very dear to my heart, amnesty for Mexican undocumented citizens of the United States. In his hand, the Dreamer holds a green card in his hand. This is representative of the Dreamers who will hopefully one day be granted amnesty and legal citizenship in the US. “’Dreamer’ refers to a young person who qualifies for the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.”1

My piece is an updated version of Frida Kahlo’s The Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth, Myself, Diego and Senor Xolotl, 1949. Kahlo’s traditional Mexican attire represents Mexico in every self-portrait I’ve had the privilege to view. I have changed her clothing to represent both the US and Mexico incorporating the US and Mexican flag designs in her dress. The blue stripe in the center of her skirt represents the Rio Grande River bordering the US and Mexico.

Frida placed foliage from her country throughout her original painting to further represent Mexico. I have added an apple tree to her shoulder in hopes that people will remember the story of Johnny Appleseed as one very kind man and missionary who just after the Revolutionary War traveled west and planted Apple nurseries throughout several of the states. Every man was his friend. He even converted Native American tribes to Christianity. The Native Americans regarded him as someone who had been touched by the Great Spirit. I could think of no other tree or piece of foliage than the glorious apple tree to represent the people of the United States.

Contestant 2

Artist Name: Celeste Clifton
Title of Work: Everybuddy

Artist Statement

Everybuddy is a celebration of diversity and heroism. Most of the visible figures are superheros, though there are villains mixed in. On a team, diversity can become your greatest strength. Nowhere is this clearer than with a team of superheroes, who use their powers to do things together that none of them could do alone. They make up for each other’s shortfalls. So do teams of villains. There are other things blended into the scenery surrounding the buddy, but what’s of note can be different to each viewer.

Contestant 3

Artist Name: Chelsey Kornegay
Title of Work: Spectrum

Artist Statement

“Spectrum” is meant to depict that diversity is not all-inclusive to race, but also includes religions, disabilities, sexuality, and more. I work in a healthcare field and it is so important for us to treat everyone equally and many don’t think about disabilities and other traits that make us the people that we are, but also that those traits are what make us different from the person next to us. 

Contestant 4

Artist Name: Carlie Pooler
Title of Work: A Frameless Picture

Artist Statement

For this project I wanted to capture as many facets of diversity utilizing as many different mediums as I could. I wanted the process to mimic the message of the final product. To me, this is what diversity encompasses: inclusivity and value of differences. Therefore, it was very important to me to make sure I was as inclusive and respectful to different identities and that that message comes across clearly to the viewer.

The subject matter itself includes a background image of photographs of women from different backgrounds collaged together to display two ideas: despite our differences, we come together to function as one while still adhering to what makes us unique as individuals and that even though the images are of women, there’s just as much diversity within this one identity. The second image, which I used photo-editing software to overlay the first image, is a marker drawing of various flags. Some of the flags represent different countries and others represent the pride of people of various sexual orientations and/or gender identities.

Contestant 5

Artist Name: Rochelle Holgate
Title of Work: Rooted Glory

Artist Statement

The Earth is like a plant that has to be nourished at all times or it will wither and die. This is a compilation of my feeling towards gardening and how we as humans treat or really should treat the Earth like a precious plant that we benefit from because we do. The thing is not just one person can do it, it is a group effort. Each group’s individuality makes it all the better. I decided to mix colours and materials to show how inclusion makes for a better aesthetic.  

Contestant 6

Artist Name: Josie Savnik
Title of Work: Coming Out Together

Artist Statement

This theme of diversity within the LGBTQIA+ community is very, very important to me as a pansexual non-binary person for so many different reasons. For one, we are supposed to be a huge community of compassion and support, but recently the community has been getting very restrictive. I think it’s important to remind the community of its purpose: supporting others within the community rather than putting each other down for the different ways they identify. I also think it is very important to let those who are questioning their gender or sexuality that, no matter their race, nationality, religion, or anything of the sort, it’s important to be true to yourself and let your colors fly.