Last weekend, Champkids, an organization dedicated to providing student-artists opportunities to practice their skills and display their passion, hosted a live drawing and coloring competition for kids at the Long Island Children’s Museum. Almost 200 people gathered to create art, spend time with family and friends, and check out the unique exhibitions on display.
The event began with an informal assembly in the museum lobby for all of the contestants to register. This was also the time for attendees to become familiar with the various vendors who sponsored the event.
During the competition, students grades K-12 spent 45 to 90 minutes completing a work of art following the theme “Celebrate Mother’s Day!” The participants were split into three categories based on their grade level. Those between grades K-2 were given a pre-made design to color in, grades 3-5 were given a frame design within which they drew and colored their own image. Grades 6-12 were given a blank page to create their own work.
The judging panel was composed of art professionals from a variety of fields. It included the Barbara Silbert, who spent 30 years working as an art director, designer, and illustrator, Jennifer Kelly, an art teacher for the Roslyn School District, Xiangdong Shi, an award-winning artist whose work has been displayed all over the world, and Michelle Palatnik, an award-winning artist and a member of the prestigious Salmagundi Art Club.
“The way that we judged was based on six criteria,” says Palatnik, who spoke on behalf of the panel during the closing award ceremony. “They are presentation, creativity, aesthetic, passion, appropriateness to the theme, and skills.”
During the award ceremony, Fenella Kim and her daughter Allena, the co-founders of Champkids, shared their story of how they started the company.
“While athletic kids get the benefit of sports competition, Champkids provide kids who are not athletic but are creative a platform to compete and shine. Through live art competition, we give opportunity to participants to develop life long skill sets such as determination, creativity, imagination, self-confidence, time management, and winning mindset.”
In the end, the Top 3 winners from each category were awarded huge trophies and gift baskets that included more than $1,000 worth of prizes. Prizes included art supplies from Blick Art, soft toy blankets from The Northwest Company, Kwik Stix from The Pencil Grip, custom notepads from HSBC, and other contributions from Massage Envy, NEFCU, and Pamela Spencer.
Champkids partnered with and supports Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Long Island. Among the winners, there were two representatives from the non-for-profit organization who won prizes as well.
Champkids
475 Northern Blvd. Suite 38
888-699-0828
champkids.com
