As a fourth-generation artist, I have been creating art my entire life. My grandmother is an interior designer and mixed-media painter, my uncle is a musical prodigy specializing in guitar and piano, and my cousin is a growing visual artist who loves theater. Being around my family means being surrounded by creativity. Different aspects of my life determine what kind of art I create. My mother is a Black woman who teaches social justice/conditioning, greatly influencing what I learn outside of school. The more I learn about politics, oppression, and societal realities, the more art becomes my way to fight it. I want to continue to create art that represents minority groups including people of color, people with disabilities, women, & people of the queer community. As I am a part of three of the minority groups listed, I am continuously impacted throughout society. I now know that social justice is my why and art is my how. As a participant in the Mural Arts of Philadelphia program, we created/painted a mural to represent the school’s sports activities. I prompted the group to place Jessamyn Stanley on this board who (in my opinion) is an underrated yoga instructor, known for breaking the stereotypes of the typical slim, white yogini by being a full-figured Black woman. I engage in social activism through programs as I am the current president of the Black Student Association at my school. I love having the opportunity to connect with and support my brothers and sisters who often feel lonely or underrepresented. My position in this program not only shows who I am as a high schooler but illustrates what I want to be and what I aim to represent. Activities that bring happiness and joy are often described as hobbies, yet for me, and all other minorities on this planet, this is a lifestyle. We do not get to choose to go through these struggles in life. However, we can accept it or aim to change it for the better and the generations to come. The positive representation of these minority groups in literature, art, film, television, and other media is important to me. The majority of the books I read and suggest, whether they are fiction or non-fiction, are authored by people of color who provide narratives about historically marginalized communities. Among my favorites are "We Deserve Monuments," which tells the story of two Black women who fall in love and, as they get older, discover the racist history of their town and work to correct it, and "Raybearer," a fantasy book featuring a Black female protagonist that imagines a society in which the darker a person's skin tone, the higher their status. This inspiration only allows my passion for social justice to grow. I take much inspiration from female artists of color who use their artistic talents for advocacy: Frida Kahlo, who gained fame through her artwork as a result of her involvement in the Mexican feminist movement, and contemporary artist Mickalene Thomas who depicts Black women front/center, taking away societal norms that these women should not be seen nor heard, or simply sexualized. Her usage of different mediums to create this change inspires me to want to do the same; to change people's lives. In the future, I want to go to a career-oriented art school and learn more techniques that I can use to create interpretation art with multiple mediums. My designs and paintings seek to honor historically marginalized people who have been left out of history books and to bring them the respect they deserve.

As a fourth-generation artist, I have been creating art my entire life. I learned it from my grandmother, an interior designer and mixed-media painter, and I continue to be inspired by her. My great-grandmother is an artist, my uncle is a musical prodigy who specializes in guitar and piano, and my cousin is a growing visual artist who loves theater. Being around my family means being surrounded by creativity. Different aspects of my life determine what kind of art I create. My mother is a Black woman who teaches social justice and social conditioning at Adler University, creating a huge influence on what I learn outside of school. I often create art to cope with the world, and the more I learn about politics, oppression, and societal realities, art becomes my way to fight it. I want to continue to create art that represents minority groups including people of color, people with disabilities, women, and people of the queer community. As I am a part of three of the minority groups listed, I am continuously impacted throughout society. There are paintings of Frida Kahlo all over my home. There are pictures of Michelle Obama, Holly Mitchell, and Ava DuVernay. Throughout my high school career, I have been surrounded by powerful and inspiring women of color who have created paths for fellow women like themselves who aim for incredible achievements. I like to call myself an activist, because I advocate for others, like these women, using my imaginative skills, and living my truth as an artist. On my journey as an artist, I was encouraged to participate in the Caroline LeCount Contest. This contest aimed to share the stories of African Americans who helped make impactful contributions to the urban youth of Philadelphia. Winning first place allowed me to broaden my subject matter and audience, and the competition challenged my confidence in creating art that correctly depicted Caroline LeCount's story. I am often inspired to design artistic expressions of inclusivity and diversity when working on personally driven projects. As a Black woman, I strive to support underrepresented individuals in America, and I work hard to accurately portray marginalized groups in my artwork. I would like to say art is my life, but realistically, fighting for equality and justice has been my lifestyle since the day I was born. I now know that social justice is my why and art is my how. As a participant in the Mural Arts of Philadelphia program, we created and painted a mural to represent the school’s sports activities. I prompted the group to place Jessamyn Stanley on this board who (in my opinion) is an underrated yoga instructor, known for breaking the stereotypes of the typical slim, white yogini by being a full-figured Black woman. I continuously engage in social activism through programs like the Ethnic Studies Leadership Academy, a grant-funded learning cohort centered on studying the impactful contributions of women of color. I realized the importance of learning one’s history and the impact various cultural differences have on my development of gaining a deeper connection to generational pride, and traumas. As the current president of the Black Student Association (BSA), I initially joined this club based on the ask of a friend. After attending a few meetings I began to fully embrace the club's values, mission, and community it fostered among my classmates. I love that I have the opportunity to connect with the Black community at my school and support my brothers and sisters who often feel lonely or underrepresented. My position in this program not only shows who I am as a high schooler but illustrates what I want to be and what I aim to represent; to make a difference in this world. Activities that bring happiness and joy are often described as hobbies, yet for me, and all other minorities on this planet, this is a lifestyle. We do not get to choose to go through these struggles in life. However, we can accept it or we can aim to change it for the better and for the generations to come. I take much inspiration from female artists of color who use their artistic talents for advocacy, like Frida Kahlo, who gained fame through her artwork as a result of her involvement in the Mexican feminist movement, and contemporary artist Mickalene Thomas who depicts Black women front and center, taking away societal norms that these women should not be seen nor heard, or simply sexualized. Her usage of different mediums to create this change inspires me to want to do the same; to change people's lives, the way they think, and how they feel. I want people in these marginalized communities to feel important. Acrylic paint is my primary medium for canvases; nevertheless, I frequently explore mixed-media collages. I mostly paint people and enjoy experimenting with art, especially when combining several media into a single piece. I experiment with multiple techniques when collaging, layering on top of cardboard and paper, and assembling everything on a canvas. I also make use of clay, cardboard, paper mache, and other materials to create unique sculptures. By experimenting, I can communicate my values and feelings through various media and expand my skill set. Often, my creation process begins with freely creating the background which is typically colorful, and then drawing a human figure, whether it is the full body, the profile, or just a face. In the future, I want to go to a career-oriented art school and learn more techniques that I can use to create interpretation art with multiple mediums. My designs and paintings seek to honor historically marginalized people who have been left out of history books and to bring them the respect they deserve.

There are paintings of Frida Kahlo all over my home. There are pictures of Michelle Obama, Holly Mitchell, Ava DuVernay, and Oprah Winfrey. These are the people I have been surrounded by throughout my high school career. Powerful and inspiring women of color who have created paths for young women like themselves to aim for incredible achievements. I like to call myself an activist because I advocate for people like these women as much as possible, especially when using my imaginative skills, and living my truth as art. I have been creating art my entire life, having learned it from my grandmother, a mixed-media painter, and continue to be inspired by her. On canvases, acrylic paint is my primary medium; nevertheless, I frequently explore mixed-media collages. On my journey as an artist, I was encouraged to participate in the Caroline LeCount Contest. This contest aimed to share the stories of African Americans who helped make impactful contributions to the urban youth of Philadelphia. Winning first place allowed me to broaden my subject matter and audience, and the competition challenged my confidence in creating art that correctly depicted Caroline LeCount's story using my most common medium, acrylic paint. As I typically design an artistic expression of inclusivity and diversity when working on personally driven projects, I continue to express this while working in groups. As a participant in the Mural Arts of Philadelphia program, we created and painted a mural to represent the school’s sports activities. I prompted the group to place Jessamyn Stanley on this board, who (in my opinion) is an underrated yoga instructor known for breaking the stereotypes of the typical slim, white yogini by being a full-figured Black woman. Advocating for Jessamyn Stanley increased representation for the African American population at my school and raised awareness of her achievement in representing Black women like herself. As a Black woman, I strive to support underrepresented individuals in America and I work hard to accurately portray marginalized groups in my artwork. I would like to say art is my life, but realistically, fighting for equality and justice has been my lifestyle since the day I was born. I now know that social justice is my why and art is my how. As a result of my developing artistic skills, I plan to continue advocating for a wide range of minority groups, especially people of color. Just as Holly Mitchell created the CROWN Act to foster safe and inclusive environments for Black people to be able to freely express themselves by wearing their natural hair, and Frida Kahlo, who rose to fame through her artwork as a result of her involvement in the Mexican feminist movement, my designs and paintings will raise awareness of historically marginalized people who have been erased from history books, as well as provide the respect these minority groups deserve.

I am submitting an art piece that defines creativity to me. Creativity means justice. To be creative is to be true to oneself. "Truth is freedom." - Maya Angelou Title: Assimilation Size: 14x17 Medium(s): Acrylic paint

There are paintings of Frida Kahlo all over my home. There are pictures of Michelle Obama, Holly Mitchell, Ava DuVernay, and Oprah Winfrey. These are the people I have been surrounded by throughout my high school career. Powerful and inspiring women of color who have created paths for young women like themselves to aim for incredible achievements. I like to call myself an activist because I advocate for people like these women as much as possible, especially when using my imaginative skills, and living my truth as art. I typically advocate for women of color, people with disabilities, and people of the queer community. I believe these minority groups must be represented positively and creatively: through books, paintings, movies, television shows, and more. When thinking creatively through books, most that I read and recommend are written by people of color who tell stories with historically underrepresented characters. Some of my favorites include “We Deserve Monuments,” which illustrates two Black women falling in love, and “Henna Wars,” an enemies-to-lovers novel, presenting an African American woman and a South Asian woman. Reading these allows me to understand the joys of being represented in modern society, doing typical things, not without the worry or acknowledgment of being discriminated against, but moreso discrimination not being the most predominant thing in our lives. Thus, my passion for social justice only grows. Although I love reading BIPOC and queer novels, I am not much of a writer, so trying to advocate via narration would not necessarily work with my strengths. However, on my journey, I found the Caroline LeCount Contest (for students in the Philadelphia School District). This contest aimed to introduce more young people in their fight to bring attention and justice to the African Americans who helped build Philadelphia and the diversity represented in this city. Winning first place allowed me to broaden my audience, and competing in the competition challenged my confidence in creating art that correctly depicted Caroline LeCount and would shine brighter than my contestant's paintings. As I often design an artistic expression of inclusivity and diversity when working individually, I continue to express this while working in groups. As a participant in the Mural Arts of Philadelphia program, we created and painted a mural to represent the school’s sports activities. I prompted the group to place Jessamyn Stanley on this board, who (in my opinion) is an underrated yoga instructor known for breaking the stereotypes of the typical slim, white yogini by being a full-figured Black woman. Advocating for Jessamyn Stanley increased representation for the African American population at my school and raised awareness of her achievement in representing Black women like herself. As a result of my developing artistic skills, I plan to continue advocating for a wide range of minority groups, especially people of color. My designs and paintings will educate others about historically underrepresented people who have been erased from history books, as well as the respect that these minority groups deserve.