BG student artist wins state OSPI award

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River HomeLink student Riley Donahue received the Judge’s Choice Award in the 41st Annual Superintendent’s High School Art Show.

Co-sponsored by Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the Washington Art Education Association (WAEA), the annual art show displays and judges pieces of student art from all nine of the state’s Educational Service Districts (ESDs).

Donahue’s piece, “Ditat Deus (God Enriches),” advanced to the state competition after initially competing against 239 entries at the regional art show hosted by ESD 112 in Vancouver. The piece was painted on two plywood panels with acrylic paint and is approximately four feet high and eight feet long.

“This piece was inspired by the harsh immigration laws in Arizona,” Donahue said. “I created the piece to show that racial profiling is still a part of our society. I don’t want people to feel guilty or bad, I want people to see that families are being torn apart by these laws.”

The title of the piece, “Ditat Deus (God Enriches),” comes from the Arizona state motto.

Judging criteria for the student art follows the Washington State Arts K-12 Learning Standards and are based on:



• Creativity: Artwork demonstrates original thinking and expressive, artistic perceptions.

• Composition: Artwork demonstrates a unique and sensitive way of answering artistic problems. It illustrates student understanding of and ability to interpret the elements of art and the principles of design. It makes a unique statement.

• Technique: Artwork demonstrates student competency in using the medium to achieve the desired outcome.

Artwork submitted to the High School Art Show must be completely original.

Donahue and his family were invited to attend the state’s reception and award ceremony on May 16 in Olympia. The piece was purchased by by OSPI and will remain as part of their permanent collection.