Student Scholarships

GreaterRestonArtsCenter opened in 1974 to enrich community life through exhibitions and education about contemporary art. One of the ways we pursue our mission is by encouraging young people to enter careers in the visual arts. Towards that goal, GRACE provides four scholarships -- two to Herndon High students and two to South Lakes High School students who plan to study art at the college level.

Scholarship Recipients 2009

This year GRACE honors Kyle Springer, Annette Lee, Parker Benbow, and Diana Li
click to enlarge
When we encountered Kyle Springer's use of natural materials and imaginative media interplay we had to take a second look. Kyle exhibited in Emerging Visions, our Youth Art Month exhibition, this past March with a student from South Lakes High School as his artistic partner. His sculptural work with its conceptual orientation was well-crafted and sophisticated. He continued to surprise and impress us with his individual work that tackles current issues in popular culture with irony and acute social commentary. mix of crap 003
mix of crap 003
Annette Lee's focus is drawing and painting and her drawings are expressive, detailed and technically well-rendered. Her work explores a multicultural world that is sensitive and thought-provoking. From portraits that are quietly moving to pen and inks of unusual complexity, her work has the ability to be fundamentally sound and emotionally raw. Please Help Us
Please Help Us
When we first encountered Parker Benbow's wide range of materials and mediums we had to marvel. Here was an artist who dared to put jewels in paintings like a miniaturist, draw with the bravado of a graffiti artist, use old-fashioned stitchery to express current ideas, and make gorgeous, funky but formal sculptures out of twisted trash bags and pop tops. Parker's work is a wild ride, exhilarating to look at, and off to new and unknown places. Pop Tops
Pop Tops
The mixed media works, exquisite drawings, and powerful imagery of Diana Li grabbed us from across the room, demanding that we come in for a long look. The view was deeply rewarding. Diana's work takes us into a rich world of distinctive cultures, unusual ideas, and multiple meanings. From self-portraits that are as wondrous as they are haunting to pen and inks of unusual complexity, her work has the rare quality of being technically delicate yet conceptually weighty. Self Portrait
Self Portrait