Rep. Case announces winners of his 2024 Congressional Art Competition

US Congressman Ed Case (D-HI) announced the winners of his 2024 Congressional Art Competition during an awards ceremony at the Bishop Museum, where entries have been on public display.

This year, 46 art pieces were entered from 14 schools through Case’s district of Urban Honolulu. Winning works were chosen to be displayed for one year at the US Capitol.

“All of this year’s contestants earned our respect for participating in a contest that featured so many quality art pieces and made it so difficult for our judges to select the winners,” said Case. “The quantity, quality and diversity of the artwork presented was inspiring and truly showcased the range of artistic talent across my district. I’ll be very proud to highlight the winners’ work in the US Capitol and in my Congressional offices.”

Each spring since 1982, the Congressional Institute has sponsored a nationwide high school visual arts competition to recognize and encourage artistic talents in each Congressional district. Most US House offices participate.

The winners for Case’s event this year are:

1st Place

Emily Yanos
Grade 12
Moanalua High School
Title: “Land of Love”
Medium: digital art
She and a guest will receive a round trip for two on Southwest Airlines to attend the National Awards Competition in Washington, D.C., among other
prizes. Her image representing Hawai‘i’s 1st Congressional District will also be displayed in the US Capitol for one year along with those of the winners in other districts.

2nd Place
Kai Yara
Grade 11
Punahou School
Title: “Weaving Tradition – Lei”
Medium: acrylic on canvas
His image will be displayed in the Washington, D.C. Office of Congressman
Case for one year, along with a certificate.

3rd Place
Amelia Sofos
Grade 12
Punahou School
Title: “Thank you for growing with us”
Medium: alcohol markers on paper
Her image will be displayed in the District Office of Congressman Case in downtown Honolulu for one year, along with a certificate.

Honorable Mentions

Lingyan Chen
Grade 12
Farrington High School
Title: “Calm”
Medium: photography

Ariel Young
Grade 11
Kalani High School
Title: “July 7th, 1898”
Medium: photography

Vheronica Jane Reinares
Grade 12
Farrington High School
Title: “Dysmorphia”
Medium: photography

Sophie Chan
Grade 10
Punahou School
Title: “Reframing Tropical Theatrics”
Medium: oil paint

“I want to especially thank our panel of judges who reviewed the works and made some very tough decisions,” said Case.

The judges were:

Dwayne Adams: Local artist and art instructor focusing on watercolor painting. He resides in Kailua and his work focuses primarily on Hawaiian art, featuring scenes in and around Kailua, Honolulu, and other locations throughout the Hawaiian Islands.

Kelly Ciurej: Artist and photographer born and raised on Chicago’s Southside. Through the use of photographs, performance, artificial materials, and digital printing processes, she is interested in the ways in which photographs distort memories and instead create invented realities. She is a lecturer in photography at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

Atis Puampai: Atis Puampai grew up in Pearl City and started his photographic endeavors documenting his local skate crew. He is currently interested in depicting various perspectives of time utilizing alternative capture methods with homemade or modified equipment. Puampai is currently teaching at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and resides in Honolulu.

Josephine Wu-Vuylsteke: Wu-Vuylsteke was a professional broadcaster in Taipei, Taiwan before becoming a full-time advocate for women’s participation in civil society. She is currently a board member for both the Asia-Pacific Liberal Women Association and the International Network for Liberal Women. She is an active member and past president (2019-2020) of the North American Taiwanese Women’s Association, Hawaiʻi Chapter, and is also an advisor and Asian Liaison to the Druk Foundation, a non-profit supporting the preservation of sacred arts in the nation of Bhutan.