Cara Kwon holding her winning painting.
Cara Kwon, a junior at Emerald Ridge High School in Puyallup, is the winner of the 2021 Congressional Art Competition for Washington’s 10th Congressional District, Rep. Marilyn Strickland announced on May 24.
Kwon was selected by a panel of judges for her acrylic painting depicting her uncle comforting her grandfather in the hospital before he passed away from Alzheimer’s.
“I wanted to highlight my grandpa’s hand being held by my uncle, who was the only person allowed to be there with him due to the COVID restrictions, by using vibrant colors on the hand and duller colors in the background so that the viewers could see that first and then their eyes would follow what he is holding,” Kwon said. “I wanted to share this to encourage people to reach out to their close ones as much as possible because once they are gone, they are gone.”
Kwon’s painting will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year next to the art of students from each district across the country.