Students Shine Light On Antisemitism In 2nd Annual Tampa Art Exhibit

TAMPA, FL — The city of Tampa and Mayor Jane Castor are inviting the public to view a new art exhibit, Shine A Light Youth Art Contest, produced by the Tampa Jewish Community Centers & Federation.

This exhibit, on display now in the lobby of the Tampa Municipal Office Building, 306 E Jackson St., is helping raise awareness about antisemitism, share educational resources and empower people to stand against the hatred of Jewish people through the power of art.

Castor and the Tampa JCCs & Federation honored the winners in a ceremony on Tuesday.

“The idea behind this competition was to tap into the tremendous artistic talent of students in our community and use it to bring attention to, or “shine a light” on, antisemitism and hate," Jeffrey Berger, Tampa JCCs & Federation president, said. "We’re thrilled that these remarkable students, their parents and teachers accepted the challenge of helping to combat antisemitism and successfully used their art to convey this message.”

The second annual Shine A Light Youth Art Contest was held in March. Students in grades four through 12 were invited to submit two-dimensional artwork along with a written description of their piece. Artwork included computer graphics, charcoal, pencil, lithography, pastels, oils, acrylics and mixed media.

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Sixty-four entries were submitted to the Tampa JCC and Federation for review in two age groups:

• Junior division, which included fourth- through eighth-graders.
• Senior division, which included grades nine through 12.

For the second time, Castor served as one of the judges for the competition. The winning artwork was revealed at an awards event held at the Shanna & Bryan Glazer JCC on April 18.

Students who created winning artwork received cash awards: first place, $1,000; second place, $750; third place, $300; honorable mentions, $100. In all, 26 students received awards.

The winning pieces are now a traveling collection to be exhibited in various locales around the community. The first stop is Tampa’s City Hall. Future exhibits include the Tampa Bay History Center and Tampa International Airport.

To view the artwork, visit jewishtampa.com/shinealight.