Out West (#36): Meet the winners of the 2022 Celebrate the West regional art competition

Each year the Western Governors’ Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Western Governors' Association, hosts a competition that challenges high school students to create a piece of artwork that is inspired by their state. Now in its eighth year, Celebrate the West generates hundreds of amazing pieces created by budding western artists. 

The application window for this year’s competition opened on January 9th. The deadline for entries is April 30th.

In today’s episode of Out West, Anna Thielen, the Western Governors’ Foundation Manager, speaks with last year’s winner, Michelle Lin, about what inspired her acrylic painting titled Unity.

Anna also speaks with Sharron Rouse, one of the art experts on the Celebrate the West judging panel, about what made Michelle’s painting stand out. She also speaks with Thomas Wiberg, the third recipient of WGF’s Award for Outstanding High School Art Educator, about the importance of art education in the West.