Liberty students take home nine awards in Countywide Art Show
Liberty students earned nine awards in the Countywide Art Show hosted by Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, with Liberty taking home half of the Artist Choice awards in color and black and white photography and digital art.
The show hosted work from students in prekindergarten through 12th grade from all eight districts in Sullivan County. The student opening was held Thursday, April 9, where students, including 21 from Liberty, had the opportunity to select their favorite works in each category. During the opening, students were also invited to visit the Bethel Woods Museum.
“The awards are not why we create art or show it. We show art to share it, to inspire, to be inspired. The awards simply say our hard work was acknowledged and our creativity and technical skills were appreciated,” teacher Ms. Kath Johansen said.
A formal awards ceremony was held Thursday, including Artist Choice Awards and Student Choice Awards. Artist Choice Awards are granted by a panel of professionals going through each category to select a few works in each as the best works of the show, while Student Choice Awards are voted on by the students as the best work for that category. Each student received one vote per category. Only artwork by students in seventh through 12th grades were judged.
Earning awards for Liberty were:
- Seventh-grader Kaliani Rivera, who earned a Student Choice Award for color drawing
- Studio Art student Alex Olivares Reyes and Advanced Studio Student Madelyn Steward received Artist’s Choice awards for black and white drawing, and National Art Honor Society President Jhosmery Jadan Pangolo received a Student Choice Award in that category
- Photo 1 students earned three awards in color photography, with Cassandra Porter and Amy Szuba winning two of the three Artist Choice Awards, and Janelis Flores winning one of the three Student Choice Awards.
- Allison Vasko won one of two Artist Choice Awards for digital art
- Carlos Garzon Cruz won one of three Artist Choice Awards in black and white photography.
The show was open to the public Friday through Sunday, April 10-12.
“Visiting the show and sharing all eight district’s work with the students opens their eyes and gets them thinking,” Ms. Johansen said. “We appreciate that opportunity, Sullivan BOCES hard work to make it happen and Bethel Woods for allowing us to be there.”








