Student Scholarships

GreaterRestonArtsCenter opened in 1974 to enrich community life through exhibitions and education about contemporary art. One of the ways we pursue this mission is by encouraging young people to enter careers in the visual arts. Towards that goal, GRACE provides four scholarships — two to Herndon High School students and two to South Lakes High School students who demonstrate mastery of artistic fundamentals, show great promise as emerging artists, and plan to study art at the college level. The scholarship program is named in honor of Ann B. Rodriguez, whose lifelong interest in the arts and her numerous contributions to the Northern Virginia arts community were legendary.

Herndon High School Recipients
Griffin Harrington When we first saw Griffin's work, we were stunned that a high school student could produce such sophisticated photographs. Whether it's arresting portraits, sensitive street scenes, or dramatic athletic events Griffin captures an instant and makes it feel eternal. In our daily lives where we are overloaded with visual imagery, it becomes even more remarkable that a single photograph can sear into our memory as Griffin's work does.

Samantha Logan Samantha enrolled in her first art class last year and judging from her work, she immersed herself completely. Samantha possesses one of the most important qualities a practicing artist needs — fearlessness. She explores mediums, subjects, and techniques always looking for something beyond the mere surface of things. Whether it's drawing, collage, mixed media, or computer graphics, Samantha's work shows a real technical skill and a beautiful imagination.

South Lakes High School
Sheree Chen The exquisite and powerful imagery depicted in Sheere Chen's vibrant paintings take us into a rich and exciting world of cultural diversity. In one of the most striking pieces of her portfolio we saw that she is able to render the elephant headed Hindu deity, Ganesh, using a combination of intricate line drawing and very loose, playful brush strokes of vibrant color. The complexity of this work has the rare quality of being technically delicate yet conceptually weighty. Sheree also produced several gentle watercolor portraits, one of which shows a young woman's face leaning on her hand. The very painterly quality of the strokes shows a mastery over the media and the conscious ability to look for and find the essence of her subject.

Belmin Rivera When we first saw Belmin's work, we were excited by his prolific portfolio of inventive clay sculptures and sophisticated pen & ink drawings. Belmin created a series of delightfully delicate ink wash cartoons that illustrate insightful and witty social commentary as well as several hand built ceramic sculptures which caught our attention. In particular a glossy, black, disquieting Demon mask that looked as if it were part of a classic Japanese drama performance and the other, a beautiful purple poison frog with an extra appendage, a human arm and hand, coming out of its mouth. These exquisitely glazed pieces seemed to speak about larger issues that this amazing young person is confronting. Using art to communicate and share with the outside world our inner most struggles is difficult but it often is the driving force behind why artists create.