Young artist advances to state competition

A season-appropriate artwork by John Swett Elementary student Tanner Matthews was selected on Saturday to advance to a statewide competition at the 32nd District Showcase, hosted by the Martinez PTA Council and held at the Performing Arts Center at Alhambra High School. Matthews’ winning entry won out over submissions to the Reflections Art Program Contest from all the Northern California PTA Councils. A national program, the Reflections Program is “an arts recognition and achievement program for students [that] provides opportunities for students to express themselves creatively and to receive positive recognition for original works of art inspired by a pre-selected theme, while increasing community awareness on the importance of the arts in education,” according to the California State PTA. Since its establishment in 1969, over 10 million U.S. public school students have participated in the annual program. This year’s theme was “Beauty Is….”