One HSPVA Senior and Two HSPVA Juniors Win 13th Annual WAS-H Scholarships

By Haley Bowen, WAS-H Outreach Director

Celebrating 13 years of giving to the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA), WAS-H has awarded three HSPVA students a total of $650.00. WAS-H scholarships are awarded to promising HSPVA watermedia students who wish to continue their art education in pre-college summer art programs or in college with a major in art. A $400.00 award went to Sarah Perkison – HSPVA graduating senior and watermedia artist. Two $125.00 awards went to HSPVA juniors and watermedia artists, Maya Chorn and Tania Vega. Constantly evolving as a society and vowing to live up to our mission, WAS-H yearned to continue our support for HSPVA students. The pandemic has been difficult to navigate, but WAS-H is thankful to be able to continue another year in our scholarship program.

Our senior recipient, Sarah Perkison, has been accepted into the Fine Arts Department of the University of New Mexico. “Through the exploration of profoundly personal symbols I intend to learn and process my own emotions and better understand those of others,” Sarah shared in her Artist Statement. “The most important parts of the physical world are not physical at all, they are the created memory spaces in our minds which are contorted by recollections both tender and/or painful…I am interested in both the way that humans collect physical objects and keep them as vessels for memories and emotions, and the ways people discard or hide objects which have a negative evocation…My work reflects this feeling of sacredness by often containing aspects of spirituality and deep personal sentiment.”

Our junior recipients Maya Chorn and Tania Vega were selected from a jurying process based on submissions from their Spring Portfolio. Haley Bowen, WAS-H Outreach Director, watermedia artist, teacher, and WAS-H member, was selected to help jury the show among other jurors. Both Maya Chorn and Tania Vega will use their scholarships towards art programs.

WAS-H is honored to celebrate the talent, passion, sophistication, and technical skills of these young women. Sarah, Tania, and Maya, we wish you all the best in college, your pre-college programs, and in your future careers!