NW Valley Times

The Peoria City Council celebrated 21 local students who participated in the city's Young Artists Program during a May 2 meeting.

Peoria launched its Young Artists Program in 2016 as an opportunity for the city to engage with its youth by connecting with students of all ages from the Peoria Unified School District and to promote the inherent value of art within a community. The program repeatedly honors select student artists and displays their work in either Peoria City Hall or the West Valley Arts Museum. The chosen students receive their framed artwork after a period of display in the selected city facility and a certificate to commemorate their accomplishments.

Peoria Mayor Jason Beck and the City Council honored 21 students from Kindergarten through 8th grade during the meeting, displaying their artwork in a slideshow while the students were invited to shake the hands of council members and receive their certificates. Beck said that he was impressed by the skills and confidence that the students displayed while he interviewed them and was proud to have them representing the Peoria community.

"Peoria has always been a strong supporter of the arts as well as education," City Manager Henry Darwin said. "The Peoria Young Artists Program combines both values in a program to celebrate our local youth from the Peoria Unified School District and their achievements in artistic endeavors."

“We all know that when you bring the arts together into the community and you put it into the schools and you embed it into the city culture, that you end up with a greater community and a better place," said PUSD Arts Education director Robert Panzer. "And when you go around the city of Peoria and see what is happening with the arts, you see that firsthand, whether it would be with the public arts or whether the arts and cultural festivals or an event like tonight. It's one of those things that's really wonderful. ... So a partnership like we have with the Young Artists Awards is something that really lets that shine and lets us showcase that, and Peoria Unified is proud to be a partner with the city of Peoria in this.”

The featured artists included Skylar Grubb (Park Ridge Elementary), Kendall McGruder (Park Ridge Elementary), Ava de la Cruz (Peoria Elementary), Josia Sigaro (Peoria Elementary), Carolyn Soto (Paseo Verde Elementary), Brantley Saylor (Paseo Verde Elementary), Kai Hasegawa (Peoria Traditional), Aryanna Reyes (Peoria Traditional), Isabella Mora (Sante Fe Elementary), Mena Lynch (Santa Fe Elementary), Maria Jose Baja-Guerrero (Sun Valley Elementary), Isabella Ibarra Lucero (Sun Valley Elementary), Sofia Wong (Skyview Elementary), Azucena Para (Skyview Elementary), Jamie Brown (Sundance Elementary), William Giles (Sundance Elementary), Stephen Melo (Sunset Heights Elementary), Olivia Lowe (Sunset Heights Elementary), Danica Chen (Sunset Heights Elementary), Kolton Lepak (Zuni Hills Elementary), and Hannah Pavestan (Zuni Hills Elementary).