HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Darlington County School District and hundreds of students, staff and community members recently celebrated the winners of the district’s annual Art in Business program at Hartsville Middle School. During the ceremony, the district also announced the four grand prize winners for the program.
The district’s Art in Business creates partnerships with businesses and organizations to celebrate the school district’s best visual artists. The school winners’ artwork will hang in sponsoring businesses for a year before returning to the district, while the four grand prize winners will hang permanently in the district’s administrative offices.
The four grand prize winners are:
- Early Childhood Division/Grades K-2: Jaxon Forte’, Southside Early Childhood Center, Shamron Hudson, art teacher.
- Elementary School Division/Grades 3-5: Marissa Gilbert, J.L. Cain Elementary School, Timothy Green, art teacher.
- Middle School Division/Grades 6-8: Kimber Markwell, Spaulding Middle School, Clarence L. Dubose II, art teacher.
- High School Division/Grades 9-12: Sancha Cooks, Hartsville High School, Mary Cline McKnight, art teacher.
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Each school selected its school winner. A pool of judges composed of sponsors, art educators from other South Carolina school districts, and professional artists selected the grand prize winners through an online balloting system. Each school winner received a $50 prize check and a ribbon. Each grand prize winner received a grand prize ribbon and $50, and their art teachers will each receive $200 for art supplies.
The event also featured an art gallery in the HMS cafeteria. Throngs of excited students and families filed in and around exhibited art from every school in the district.
The individual school winners are:
- Jaxon Forte’, Southside Early Childhood Center — “Shaving Cream Art.”
- Ava Denson, Pate Elementary, “Beyond Our Dreams”
- Mia Aguilera, St. John’s Elementary — “Spark The Orange Frog.”
- Zamar McCoy, Thornwell School for the Arts — “Self-Portrait.”
- Sha’Mya Hawkins, Rosenwald Elementary — “Best Friends Forever.”
- Olivia Driggers, Lamar-Spaulding Elementary — “Radiant Forest.”
- Marissa Gilbert, J.L. Cain Elementary — “Meg-A-Snacks.”
- Jamie Shoemake, Brockington Elementary Magnet — “Nightly Blossoms.”
- Darianna Crummy, Bay Road Elementary — “Winter Landscape.”
- Sarah Smith, North Hartsville Elementary — “Snowy Day.”
- Ainsley Lynch, Carolina Elementary — “Sunset Sunflowers.”
- Bryce Winburn, Hartsville Middle — “Red Cardinal on a Tree Branch.”
- Kimber Markwell, Spaulding Middle — “Koi on the Lake.”
- Quonoria Johnson, Darlington Middle — “From Afar.”
- Gabrelle Ray, Darlington High — “In the Mind’s Eye.”
- Tiana Mitchell, Lamar High — “Serenity Mountain.”
- Ziva Lanier, Mayo High School for MST — “Four-thirty.”
- Carissa Gaskins, Darlington County Virtual Academy — “Snowman.”
- Michelle Brown, Darlington County Institute of Technology — “Vector Self-Portrait.”
- Sancha Cooks, Hartsville High School — “Self-Portrait.”
