Reisterstown eighth-grader Alana Zunikoff took home the second place in the ArtEffect Project competition by the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes. The award was accompanied by a $1,500 prize. Zunikoff, who is homeschooled, created a piece called “From Labor to Liberty” that depicted labor activist Florence Kelley.
“Florence Kelley inspired me because she used her privilege to help those who are less fortunate,” wrote Zunikoff in her artist’s statement. “Like Kelley, I want to use my talents to help disadvantaged people.”
For Zunikoff, art offers a medium through which to “express my emotions, experiences and ideas.”
“I feel that portraying emotions or solving issues through art isn’t as daunting as writing or speaking and it can be just as effective,” Zunikoff said.
Interim communications director for the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes Sarah Haufrect, a judge of the contest said, “She honored the mission of this program by using her creative talents to think about the ways her chosen hero set a positive example.”
This was the first art contest to which Zunikoff had ever applied. “Winning wasn’t my main goal, but the outcome of the contest bolstered my confidence,” she said. “From now on, I will take more opportunities that involve sharing my art.”
Zunikoff’s plans for the future involve pursuing her interested in writing, art, science and acting. “I will most likely pursue a career involving visual art and I wish to attend a college with a strong art program,” she said.
