Each year since 2016, teens living or attending school in Arlington have been invited to submit designs for banners. The Youth Banner Initiative encourages development in the visual arts and offers an opportunity for students in grades 6 to 12 to be part of Arlington’s public art programming. Funding is provided by the Gracie James Foundation in memory of Gracie James, a talented Arlington High School student who found solace and joy in the arts.
The theme for 2021 was PROTEST: LIFTING VOICES. Our artists this year didn’t back down from subjects such as social, environmental, and economic justice, protection of our earth and its creatures, peace, and love. The artwork from this year’s students will grace Arlington’s streets and demonstrate the issues that matter most to our students, and to all of us as a community. It’s about how you can use your voice for change and what things you can accomplish when you do; and most of all, these banners serve as a reminder of that which we wish to protect and speak out for, or against.
Winners of the 2021 Youth Banner Initiative
Many thanks to all the participants of this year’s program, and especially to the middle school and high school art departments of Arlington Public Schools. Without wonderful art teachers and Dave Ardito, head of Visual Arts, ACAC could not make this special program happen!
The banners will be hung sometime in April and will stay on display throughout much of the summer.
Ellen Baird, OMS
Rachel Barglow, AHS
Anamika Biswas, AHS
Sabine Bohnert, AHS
Allyson Brown, AHS
Charlotte Cheung, AHS
Mara Colosimo, AHS
Norah Conti, AHS
Emma Cox, AHS
Felix Diaz, AHS
Emma Dodge, AHS
Ana Gonzalez-Smith, OMS
Lucia Grunko, OMS
Oona Kathan, OMS
Ahran Kim, AHS
Julia McNeil, AHS
Ezinne Marie Onyemah, OMS
Kira Pontes, OMS
Sam Pirone, AHS
Grace Purinton, AHS
