By: Ashmar Mandou
Seven local students who participated in the Walgreens Expressions Challenge were honored for using their talents in creative writing, visual arts, and multimedia to share their perspectives on teen-challenges on January 12th at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Sponsored by Walgreens, the Expressions Challenge is a creative contest for high school students in Chicago and St. Louis to address pertinent themes that are affecting youth today. Lawndale Bilingual Newspaper spoke to Natalie Ayala and Javier Gutierrez, two of the seven students awarded, who shared what the Walgreens Expressions Challenge meant to them.
Natalie Ayala, 17, Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep
Lawndale Bilingual Newspaper: How did you hear about the Walgreens Expressions Challenge?
I found out about the Walgreens Expressions Challenge during a meeting of my school’s National Art Honor Society.
What did you enjoy most about the challenge to create through the medium of the arts?
The best part about entering challenges like these is that it allows you to collaborate with people to create something great. My medium, which is film, is a perfect example of forcing yourself to be in new situations because it is so collaborative and time-consuming. I created the winning film with Patricia Frazier, and some of our really close friends starred in it. While we all knew each other closely, certain road bumps always come with filmmaking –location scouting, DIY film equipment and working around people’s schedules. In the end, it is a great feeling to see what you can make with not only your creativity, but also with others.
Share with our readers how the Walgreens Expressions Challenge helps high school students and how it has helped you?
For young artists, especially artists of color, it can sometimes be disheartening not to see an accurate representation of who you are. In the fall, I will be attending college where I will be majoring in film. In my field, less than three percent of cinematographers are women, and of that, a fraction of those women will be Latina. So winning competitions like the Walgreens Expressions Challenge is of course a great advantage for me, but it can also encourage other young artists to apply to similar competitions. In the end, making art is not only for myself but also others. It’s so important that the art world has multiple perspectives and opinions, winning this enabled me to personally make sure that I was adding to the representation that’s so desperately needed (even if I was behind-the-camera the whole time.) Competitions like these are important for high school students because it allows them to get their story out there but also, like it did for me, enable students to create small changes that will eventually lead to revolutionary ones.
Javier Gutierrez, 17, Reavis High School
Lawndale Bilingual Newspaper: How did you hear about the Walgreens Expressions Challenge?
I heard about the Walgreens Expressions Challenge from my teacher. I figured that it would be fun to join and create something that I was really passionate about.
What did you enjoy most about the challenge to create through the medium of the arts?
What I enjoyed most about the challenge was that it allowed every student to create and submit what they wanted. There wasn’t really any rules that prevented the artists from speaking their minds through their artwork.
Share with our readers how the Walgreens Expressions Challenge helps high school students and how it has helped you?
The Walgreens Expressions Challenge helps high school students to be recognized for their passions and beliefs through their creativity and talents. It has helped me realize that my voice matters in the world and there are people who can connect or relate to the message of my artwork.
