Parents and children look at the various artworks on display after the Art Attack award ceremony at Mary Wood Weldon Memorial Library. Photo by Michael Crimmins/Glasgow News 1
By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
In the side room on the first floor of the Mary Wood Weldon Memorial Library stood a single podium and numerous rows of chairs while tables bearing the artwork of the community lined the west wall of the yellow-painted room.
It was in this room that Krista Jones, tween and teen programmer at the library, along with Dillon Roy, owner of The Fifth Ink, a tattoo shop located in Glasgow, awarded the prizes for the artwork that received the most community votes on Aug. 4.
This award ceremony was the conclusion of “Art Attack,” a summer art competition for children ages 12-18 hosted at the library and sponsored by Roy. According to the flier, Roy put up $1,000 of his own money to award the top three vote-getters with $600, $300 and $100 respectively.
Submissions ended July 10 with voting beginning the following day and running until July 31.
Jones and Roy said initially they were worried about the turnout of this competition and the community response, but Jones said that was not the case as 352 in-person votes were cast in that 21-day time frame.
“This art competition has exceeded expectations of everyone involved,” Jones said. “My biggest fear this whole time is that we’d get no response from our community. That did not happen, we got over three hundred votes.”
Before Roy announce the three winners, the 30 pieces of artwork were each recognized and given a certificate, including “Heartstoppers” who received the Storyteller Award and “old Faithful” who received the Beautiful Picture Award. Jones also announced that one piece had already been sold for $150.
After each creation was recognized Roy took to the podium to hand out the top three awards and their cash prizes. Roy said he was happy to see such a turnout and all the talent present in each piece.
“I’m very, very impressed and grateful,” Roy said. “All this art is amazing and you’re all very valuable.
In third place, winning $100, was “Painted Octopus,” in second, receiving $300, was “Fearless” and “Northern Lights” by Marley Redford came in first winning $600. Jones also said “No Scream for Ice Cream” by Natalie Jones would receive $300 for getting the most online votes.
Jones said it is uncertain at this time if the library would host this art competition next year but she has “already had some questions” asking if they would.
Jones said she was happy to see so much engagement with children and families in Glasgow. She said events like this helps people see libraries are not just a place for books but also a place for community.
“Libraries around the country are experiencing a shift in how they’re perceived so this was a good opportunity to switch it up,” Jones said. “I saw this art competition as an opportunity to prove that libraries are still relevant. My favorite quote to share with people is…bad libraries build collections, good libraries build services and great libraries build communities.”
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