Saratoga News
Education
Annual Olympiad event opens--let the art begin
By Emilie Doolittle
On display in the Olympiad of the Arts online gallery, there is a ceramic purse shaped like a woman's naked torso and wrapped with a narrow shawl that begs questions relating sexual images to feminism and consumerism. In another window there is a photo of a building showing black windows contrasted with white walls, creating an optical illusion like one of M.C. Escher's drawings.
Besides aesthetics, it's hard not to notice the thoughtfulness and arduous effort put into each art piece that qualified for the Olympiad's gallery last year. The same artistic caliber is required for high school and lower-division college students who participate in this year's Olympiad of the Arts contest.
The Olympiad is accepting entries in visual arts and creative writing until March 28 and photography until March 25. Prizes totaling $9,500 will be awarded and winning artwork will be displayed at West Valley Community College and on the Olympiad's website at www.olympiadofthearts.org.
The purpose of the Olympiad is to "reward the outstanding creative talents of the students in Santa Clara County and encourage their continued study and growth in the arts," said Wendie Weisman, the Olympiad director at West Valley College. The Olympiad provides local schools an opportunity to acknowledge student artists for their talents as well as their outstanding creative arts programs and teachers.
The Olympiad has recognized and rewarded artists since 1928, when Sen. James Phelan and poet laureate Henry Meade Bland gave the first award at Villa Montalvo. Phelan and Bland envisioned Santa Clara Valley as the center for artists, the "Athens of the West."
In 1978, the West Valley-Mission College Foundation continued to honor and promote the vision of Phelan and Bland by providing a place for the Olympiad at West Valley College, where visual arts and photography are exhibited each year. Now the Olympiad of the Arts Committee, consisting of faculty and staff members of Mission and West Valley Colleges, as well as professional artists and writers in the community, judge the art contest.
The West Valley-Mission Community College District no longer gives direct financial support, but pays for the office for the Olympiad of the Arts and provides a place to showcase the art. Individual donors and grants from groups, such as the Arts Counsel of Silicon Valley, fund the Olympiad of the Arts.
To make a donation, visit www.olympiadofthearts.org/support.htm#a05. For contest guidelines and entry forms visit www.olympiadofthearts.com.