Every year, students in grades 7-12 submit various works of art to the Mid-South Scholastic Art Awards, a juried student art exhibition. They hope to receive three main accolades: a Gold Key, a Silver Key and an Honorable Mention. The submitted works go through extensive blind judging which takes several days. Regional winners are eligible for scholarships, cash prizes and for their work to be displayed at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Gold Key winning pieces are sent off to New York for further judging at the national level. The primary goal of the exhibition is to recognize the talents of young artists in the community and open them up to opportunities that will support their future artistic endeavors.
“This contest is one of the only ones who offers photography as a submission category,” Farida Moustafa (12) said. “Photography is a pretty underrepresented art form so it’s best to take advantage of the few opportunities we have as photographers.”
Whether it be yearbook work, sports games, or pep rallies, Kelsi Sharkey (12) is usually seen on the sidelines snapping shots. Her ever-growing passion and love for photography began when she was just nine years old after she received her first camera as a gift. Starting out, Sharkey thought of her hobby as something that she just wanted to try out. However, she quickly realized that this was something she could see herself doing for the rest of her life. “I’d always loved yearbooks and designing so photography quickly became a passion of mine,” Sharkey said. “I love it more than life. I think it is one of the best ways to express emotion in the form of art and you can get really deep with it.”
Up until this point, Sharkey has primarily done action photography, but she hopes to tap more into her creative side and incorporate more portraits into her work. This hope was the inspiration behind her Gold ey winning piece, “Créme of Nature.” Sharkey, with the help of her friends, staged a photoshoot inside a local beauty supply store. Here, Sharkey took photos of a variety of natural hair products and portraits of her friends. When it came time to submit a photograph to the contest, she thought she would try something other than photography and do mixed media. She took an older portrait of herself, the focal point being her afro, and photoshopped a picture of the products she had taken at the beauty supply store and staged them to flow down her hair. What Sharkey had made with “Créme of Nature.” incorporated two of the things to her: her curls and photography.
(KELA FIFER//THE SCROLL)
“My hair is very important to me. I love it more than life, so I wanted to show that love in my favorite way to express my feelings and thoughts,” Sharkey said.
Opposed to Sharkey submitting her first piece to Scholastic, Moustafa is a veteran when it comes to submitting work for the contest. Last year, Moustafa earned a coveted Gold Key. This year, she amassed a total of three recognitions: two Honorable Mentions and a Silver Key. Moustafa, who is relatively new to the world of photography, kickstarted her passion for photography in her home country, Egypt. Visiting home during the summer, Moustafa found herself picking up the camera and snapping shots of people in her community. Her affection for her home country fostered her love for photography.
“I went to Egypt and took a picture of the pyramids,” Moustafa said. “When I came back to school, Mr. Berlin saw something in my photo and asked me to join AP-3D art. After I was in the class I went back to Egypt and chose my concentration.”
Moustafa defines her photography focus as ‘human interaction.’ She finds herself drawn to taking candid pictures, wanting to capture the true, authentic essence of people. In the eyes of the judges, she did just that in her Silver Key submission “The Weight of Existence.”
“When I take pictures, I want people to feel connected to something bigger than them,” Moustafa said. “I’m showing actual moments in the photos, and I feel like when people have access to that, they see that the feelings and experiences of humans are universal.”
As a young, Black up-and-coming photographer, Starkey submitted her work to the Mid-South Scholastic Art Awards to get her name and her art out there. She specifically chose a piece that she felt represented herself. She gave those that saw “Créme of Nature” a chance to feel represented in a world world where they do not see many people who look like themselves. Similarly, Moustafa hopes that when people look at her work, they feel connected not only to each other, but to humanity. She wants to remind them that in the moments where we think no one is watching, we are all the same.
“When you take a photograph, you stop time,” Moustafa said. “You make people stop and think. You expose them to things they usually wouldn’t notice.”