Congresswoman Matsui Honors 5th District's 2011 Congressional Art Contest Winner
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
CONTACT: MARA LEE
(202) 225-7163
Congresswoman Matsui Honors 5th District's 2011 Congressional Art Contest Winner
Sacramento Student Colin Keiner Visits Washington, D.C. to See His Art Displayed in U.S. Capitol
Today, Representative Doris Matsui (CA-05) congratulated this year's winner of the Fifth District Congressional Art Competition, Colin Keiner of Sacramento. Colin traveled to Washington, D.C. this week to participate in a reception honoring the winners of each Congressional Art Competition across the nation, see the unveiling of his artwork in the Capitol, and meet with Congresswoman Matsui.
The Annual Congressional Arts Competition is an opportunity for all Members to show their support for the arts, and to highlight the talented students in each Congressional District, said Congresswoman Matsui. Colin's piece has wonderfully captured the theme of Green Sacramento , and I look forward to sharing his artwork with all the 5th district constituents who visit our nation's Capitol over the next year.
This year marks the 29th Annual Congressional Art Competition, An Artistic Discovery, in which high school students art pieces are chosen to represent their Congressional district in the halls of Congress for the year. In the Fifth District, twenty-two pieces of art were submitted from eight different schools. Students created a piece of artwork that represented Green Sacramento to them, and were encouraged to be creative in interpreting the theme. Entries were judged on the piece's originality, creativity, overall composition and design. Colin's winning piece is a photograph of downtown Sacramento titled After the Storm.
Colin, a recent graduate of Sacramento Country Day School, has long been active in community service, raising over $25,000 since 2007 for the annual Sacramento Food Bank's Thanksgiving Run to Feed the Hungry. Colin has also been an advocate for green business practices; in fact, his inspiration for the Green Sacramento theme may have come from his own entrepreneurial pursuits. From 2001 through 2007, he owned his own recycling business called Scoop da Scrap, through which he consulted with his clients about how to reduce waste and minimize pest infestation. In 2011, one of Colin's former clients started the Green Restaurant Alliance (GRAS) in Sacramento, dedicated to making restaurants in Sacramento more green. Colin is now a consultant for the alliance that includes such member restaurants as the L Wine Lounge and Urban Kitchen, Mulvaney's, Grange Restaurant and Bar, The Waterboy, and One Speed Pizza. In the fall, Colin will begin college at Portland State, and is planning to major in Architecture.
I am thrilled that my piece has been chosen to represent Sacramento in the halls of Congress, said Colin. This is a great step in my artistic pursuits, and I look forward to hopefully continuing to combine my two passions of photography and sustainability.
While in Washington this week, in addition to meeting with Congresswoman Matsui, Colin will be able to participate in workshops and attend the official ribbon-cutting ceremony. Colin's accommodations while in D.C. were provided by the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, and airfare for he and his mother were provided by Southwest Airlines.
To see pictures of Colin and Congresswoman Matsui at the art competition in Sacramento earlier this month and the celebration in Congress Wednesday, please click HERE.
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