Chiquita Canyon VP Mike Dean, Radio Station KHTS' Carl Goldman and Dean of the School of Art Tom Lawson, viewing the first place-winning video. | Photo: Scott Groller.
Dean of the School of Art Tom Lawson, CalArts Trustee Dave Bossert and Chiquita Canyon VP Mike Dean congratulate student Roksana Pirouzmand, the 1st Place Winner of the $4,000 Scholarship. | Photo: Scott Groller.
A total of $8,000 in scholarships was presented by Chiquita Canyon. From left: 2nd place winner Michael Demps, Dean of the School of Art Tom Lawson, CalArts Trustee Dave Bossert, VP of Chiquita Canyon Mike Dean, 2nd place winner Jessica Smith, 1st place winner Roksana Pirouzmand. | Photo: Scott Groller.
Student participants and officials. Back row, from left: Mary Beltran, Stephanie Deumer, Cori Redstone, Dean of the School of Art Tom Lawson, CalArts Trustee Dave Bossert, VP of Chiquita Canyon Mike Dean, Jessica Smith, Roksana Pirouzmand, William May and Audrey Davis. Sitting, from left: Avery Lawrence and Michael Demps. | Photo: Scott Groller.
On April 24, CalArts and Chiquita Canyon celebrated their third annual Found Art Scholarship Program with a gallery reception and an awards ceremony.
The scholarship prizes, which total more than $8000, go to undergraduate or graduate students who create works of art made up of at least 80% found materials from the Chiquita Canyon landfill in Castaic in the Santa Clarita Valley.
The first place winner is first year student Roksana Pirouzmand (Art BFA 17), who beat out her seniors Michael Demps (Art BFA 16), who won second place, and Jessica Smith (Art BFA 16), who won third. Blaine Nelson (Art BFA 15) is this year’s Dave Bossert Award winner, a separate $500 award given by Disney executive and CalArts alumnus Dave Bossert (Film/Video BFA 83).
In a press release, Dean of the School of Art, Tom Lawson, expressed his gratitude toward Chiquita Canyon. “We applaud Chiquita Canyon for its continued interest and support of our young people,” he said, “and we congratulate our students on their innovative use of materials to create unique pieces of artwork.”
