One of our very own Cesar Chavez students, Kaleena Quintero, has won the 2019 Congressional Art Competition award. Mrs. Ciotau, the AP art teacher, voiced her concerns for the art community and the amount of recognition they get. We talked to Mrs. Ciotau, along with Kaleena, about what this award means to them.

Kaleena is currently enrolled in Mrs. Ciotau’s third period AP art class. This is the time we chose to visit them and get to know both teacher and student in their natural setting. Mrs. Ciatau expressed that she was very proud of her student, especially since it could bring more attention to the art program as a whole. She informed us that this was the first time anyone from Chavez entered the competition, at least since 2012.

According to her, four Chavez students entered the competition this year in total. The competition works like this. There are around 50 ‘congressional districts,’ and then there is one winner for each district. The district winners get their art displayed in one of the most populated areas of Washington DC for an entire year. Mrs. Ciotau also stated that Kaleena is hard working and a very good student in class.

The way the AP Art class works is that the students are required to turn in a specific number of art pieces before the end of the school year for their portfolio. We were informed that Kaleena already did almost three times the amount of work she was required to do. According to Mrs. Ciotau, each student should have 24 pieces by the end of the school year and Kaleena already had over 70.

Kaleena was very nervous at first, but happy to win since it was her first art competition she ever entered. Kaleena also is planning on going to art school, but didn’t know which one quite yet. Her win was definitely deserved since she let us know that she put a lot of work and emotion into all her artwork. Kaleena was kind enough to let us take a look through her portfolio for her AP Art class. She let us know that she put a lot of effort and a lot of emotion into each and every one of her pieces.

Here is some of the art that will be displayed in the National Capital: