Honoring Our 2016 Recycled Materials Art Competition Winners

After receiving hundreds of amazing entries, and emerging with just a handful of winners, it was time to celebrate.

On May 26, students, teachers, and parents joined with the PaperSeed Foundation, its board members, local sponsors, and other community members at CellMark's gleaming new office building to celebrate the winners of the First Annual Recycled Materials Art Competition for elementary school students. 

PaperSeed was celebrating the winners, as well as exceptional participation from Marin County elementary school students. The children’s assignment: Create art from recyclable materials, a task they embraced with gusto. Winning pieces, along with photos of all submitted entries (which numbered in the hundreds) were on display at the CellMark office.

The kids were welcome to create their own pieces or collaborate on group projects. Teachers provided materials, instruction, and space for the projects to be completed.

"It was great to host everyone in this beautiful office space,” said Aliyya.  “We had a wonderful turnout and we will make sure the enthusiasm we saw Thursday carries on in subsequent years. In addition, the artworks the kids contributed were exceptional! The entire exercise was a great reminder to cultivate these youngsters’ incredible imaginations.”

Aliyya also thanked local sponsors, who provided a broad range of delicious refreshments. These included Green Chile Kitchen, Picante San Rafael, Taylor Maid, Arizmendi Bakery, CellMark, and Mollie Stone’s Market.

Dan Cotter, a trader with CellMark Recycling, offered a few words to the youngsters about the importance of recycling. Additionally, Chance Shelley from Marin Sanitary Service spoke about local waste-hauling efforts, and Aliyya presented winners with certificates and other prizes.

The PaperSeed Foundation works to strengthen educational opportunities for children and young people around the world, and the nature of our work shifts depending on regional educational needs. For instance, many of our projects in Kenya focus on increasing school capacity by building classrooms, and addressing the barriers to education that affect girls. In the United States, we tend to support programs that educate children about the environment and promote sustainable living.

Because PaperSeed has traditionally functioned as a grant-making organization, the Recycled Materials Art Competition was our first foray into direct local programming. Submitted projects ranged from large group installations to individual portraits and collages, and everything was made from objects like plastic, cardboard, and tin, with traditional art supplies used for enhancement. Winning students received museum passes, and their classrooms were awarded mini-grants to purchase art supplies.