Fourteen Brentwood students placed in the top 40 of the 100 Neediest Cases art contest sponsored by the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the United Way. The annual contest invites high school artists to submit their artwork, which features drawn images of those in need. Of the hundreds of student submissions, only 40 are chosen to be featured in the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
Nearly every year, BHS Art III and IV students enter the competition, competing with hundreds of other students in the St. Louis area for their art to be chosen and showcased in the campaign. Out of the 14 people that entered, Abel Curdt placed 3rd, Amelia Spencer placed 5th, Ellesie Strassner placed 7th, Kennison Cheatham placed 9th, Denise Azeem placed 10th, Nolan Schulz placed 17th, Luca Bostick-Valero placed 18th, Avery Beckrich placed 19th, Amelia Favazza placed 21st, Norah Woodman placed 22nd, Jackson Curd placed 24th, Haven White placed 26th, Madison Pierce placed 35th, and Alex Ingram placed 39th.
While nearly every year, Mr. Rempel has had some students place in the Top 40, this year was extraordinary with BHS students making up approximately 35% of the winners.
This is the first time this has happened. We have had most students place before, but this is the first time ALL of them placed!
— Mr. Rempel, art teacher for both the middle and high school at Brentwood
The idea for 100 Neediest Cases began back in the early 1920s when a Christmas festival was held to provide St. Louis families in need with toys and dinner. And for more than five decades, St. Louis Post Dispatch and the United Way have partnered to help 100 families throughout November and December, renaming the campaign 100 Neediest Cases in 1954.
Since 2008, Mr. Rempel has included this contest in his Art III and IV curriculum, for he feels that it serves as great tool for teaching drawing skills while also giving students a tangible goal in which to showcase their finished work.
For inspiration on what the draw, students mostly looked to photos. “The photo I chose made me feel something in a way that other images didn’t,” said third place winner, junior Abel Curdt. In total, Curdt thought he spent about five hours on his drawing. “I was happy with how mine turned out but I wasn’t expecting to win 3rd,” he said.
While most students used pencil for their drawings, junior Denise Azeem chose to use pen. “I felt like pen was able to convey erratic lines shows more. You can’t go back, can’t erase it, what’s done is done,” she said. “I thought it worked well with the concept.”
Azeem’s drawing won her 10th place in the contest. “What drew me to the image I used for inspiration was the fact that you could really see the hurt in both the child and mother’s eyes,” she said.
A huge congratulations to all our talented artists at Brentwood! You can view all the winners at the St. Louis Post Dispatch.
