In March, Chinenye Ozowalu won the Gold Medal at the National Scholastic Art Awards. With over 260,000 submissions and 2,000 finalists, the process is extremely selective and done by some of the most renowned artists in the visual arts.
The piece she submitted was a beautiful mosaic made with glass illustrating a euphoric scene of a young girl and her mother.
“She could be found in my room working hard on this fantastic piece for months on end,” Eileen Schnyder, her art teacher, said.
Chinenye went on to say she could not have done it without support. “I always did art for fun and as a way to express myself,” Chinenye stated while extending gratitude to teachers who kept her engaged and supported her efforts with books and extra supplies.
She continued on to speak about how her current collection interlaced with youth.
“My current collection is about innocence,” she explained. “Innocence can be lost or gained, and if there is such a loss of innocence why does it have to be portrayed negatively?”
“In the beginning it was about kids; kids are perceived as victims. Now, it is about how it may be a construct that we feed into and foster.” She paralleled the state of innocence in relation to it being a tangible thing.
Ozowalu hopes to continue posing such questions rousing individuals out of their seats as she pursues industrial design and manufacturing in college. “It was very contentious for me to get to this point, but I think I am ready,” she said.
“I really do want to create products that better our future and change how we look at things. I think it is profound to have an impact on the way a whole society views and interacts with an object.” For Ozowalu, this is a goal she is constantly working towards. As she put it, “sight to use to perception. From that step on, we never look at it a different way.”
Right now, Ozowalu is deciding between the Rhode Island School of Design and Rochester Institute of Technology. “We will see where I end up,” she concluded.
As for her award, Chinenye will be receiving the medal on June 9. at Carnegie Hall.