Judges gathered on April 28 to select Sister Cities International Santa Barbara Sister Cities YAAS – Young Artists & Authors Award winners.

The theme for 2024 was Climatescape: Resilient Cities for Tomorrow’s Climate, which emphasized the world’s changing climates and the ability of cities to be resilient in the face of these changes. The theme speaks to the organization’s goal to promote mutual understanding through establishing relationships between cities and communities.

Laura Spieler's blue-ribbon artwork ,'Spokes of Sustainability,' depicts the spokes of a bicycle wheel with eco-friendly actions like recycling, bike riding, and using wind power. (Courtesy poto)
Laura Spieler’s blue-ribbon artwork is titled ‘Spokes of Sustainability.’ (Courtesy photo)
A smiling Laura Spieler, of San Marcos High School, took the first-place prize. (Courtesy photo)
Laura Spieler, of San Marcos High School, took the first-place honor. (Courtesy photo)

The event took place at the home of past president Gilbert Garcia, where art experts Ann Hefferman and Kathy Koury (retired, Children’s Creative Project) selected the 2024 YAAS category winners for the Classic 2 Art submitted by Santa Barbara area student artists, ages 13-18.

Judging for the Photography/Digital Art awards was done by Gary Lambert, a former house photographer for the Granada and Arlington theatres, who has covered the Santa Barbara International Film Festival red carpets since its inception, along with Christopher Broughton, Jenny Jones, and Jason Hughes.

“I found the entries extremely unusual and very focused on the theme of Climatescape: Resilient Cities for Tomorrow’s Climate,” Lambert said.

Winning artists for Classic 2 D Art were:

1st place – Laura Spieler, 17, San Marcos High School; 2nd place – Aung Zaw, 16, San Marcos High School, and 3rd place – Camila Ronchietto, 15, Dos Pueblos High School. 

In Photography/Digital Art, 1st place went to Joselyn Vazquez Gonzales, 14, of Dos Pueblos High; 2nd place – Ismael Olea, 15, Dos Pueblos High School, and 3rd place – Sydney Masterson, 15, Dos Pueblos High School.

The 1st place winner’s submissions will be sent to Sister Cities International to compete for the $1,000 top national prize.

Sister Cities International is  the U.S. national organization for some  500 communities, and their 1,800 partners in 140 countries worldwide. SCI’s focus on personal diplomacy has four themes: economic development, arts and culture, youth and education, and humanitarian assistance.

The people-to-people program began 68 years ago from a proposal made by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to “promote peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation one individual, one community at a time.”

Current Santa Barbara Sister Cities include Kotor, Montenegro; Miraflores, Peru; Patras, Greece; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Toba, Japan; and Weihai, China.

For member information visit: www.cityofsantabarbara.org.www.Sistercities.org.