The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) and the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) recently unveiled the national winners of the 2010 U.S. Aviation Art Contest. The original artwork of these young artists will be forwarded to Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) for inclusion in the 2010 International Aviation Art Contest in Naples, Italy, in April.
The contest is designed to motivate and encourage young people to become familiar with and participate in aeronautics, engineering, and science.
“The National Aeronautic Association is so grateful to the thousands of students across the United States who contributed their art to this distinguished panel for review,” said Jonathan Gaffney, president and CEO. “We congratulate all the winners on this great accomplishment.”
To be eligible for the national judging, students participated in state-wide art contests and were first, second or third place winners in three age groupings. NASAO, which manages the national competition, received 180 drawing and painting entries from 20 states. More than 5,000 students submitted their work in the state contests.
The winners of the 2010 U.S. Aviation Art Contest are:
Category I: 6 to 9 year olds
- First Place: Nolan Riggin, New Mexico
- Second Place: Ashley Ho, California
- Third Place: Rachel Rhee, California
Category II: 10 to 13 year olds
- First Place: Tammy Chong, California
- Second Place: Rachel Kim, California
- Third Place: Cayley Tapp, Texas
Category III: 14 to 17 year olds
- First Place: Anissia Lucero, New Mexico
- Second Place: Bridget Flaherty, Massachusetts
- Third Place: Ismael Roman, Texas
The artwork for the national competition was judged for its originality, creativity, and use of the theme “Flying with the Sun” by a panel including: Dr. F. Robert van der Linden, chairman of the aeronautics division and curator of air transportation and special purpose aircraft, Jennifer Levasseur, museum specialist in the space history division, and Dr. Dik Daso curator of modern military aircraft, all from the National Air and Space Museum; Deborah Gallaway, formerly of NASA; and Margaret Finch, an artist who specializes in aviation art.
All national winners receive certificates, ribbons and a framed reproduction of their artwork. All the winning artwork can be seen on NASAO’s webpage.
