Students from the Washoe County School District have been recognized for their artistic contributions in the 6th Annual Taxi-Top Design Competition, organized by the EDAWN Foundation in partnership with the district. The event highlights creativity among K-12 students, with winning designs displayed on Whittlesea taxis throughout the region for a year.
This year's competition asked students to create taxi-top art that reflects why Northern Nevada is considered a good place to live, work, and play. One winner was chosen from each school level—elementary, middle, and high school. Each first-place winner receives $500 for classroom art supplies. In addition to these top awards, seven runners-up also receive $500 for their schools' art programs.
The ten winning entries came from several schools: Huffaker Elementary, Pleasant Valley Elementary, Sparks Middle School, Coral Academy of Science, Swope Middle School, Damonte High School, Academy of Arts, Careers and Technology, Hug High School and North Valleys High School.
A press conference award ceremony took place at the Washoe County School District Administration building in Reno. Winners were selected by members of both the local arts community and the EDAWN Foundation.
First-place honors went to Haven Flores from Damonte High School for a watercolor design reflecting the Truckee River; Shahriya Jhomo from Sparks Middle School for an image depicting Lake Tahoe; and Reese Hansen from Huffaker Elementary for a colorful representation of the annual balloon races.
WCSD Superintendent Dr. Kristen McNeill said: “I’m so proud of our students who submitted their artwork for the Taxi-Top competition this year. They are so artistic, and created some beautiful designs. I look forward to this event each year, and appreciate our partnership with EDAWN that makes this opportunity possible for our students.”
Beth Macmillan, spokesperson and judge for the contest added: “For six years taxi tops throughout our region have displayed art created by students K – 12 and our residents’ response has been overwhelmingly positive. EDAWN created the Taxi Top campaign as a way to showcase our young people’s creativity and their artistic interpretations of our region. As a result of this project, many of our area schools receive additional funds for their arts programs. Students are encouraged to explore and celebrate their creativity, which they may then see displayed throughout the community. The selection process is difficult due to the wide variety and outstanding quality of the many submissions received. The arts are a dynamic economic driver which significantly increase our overall quality of life and make Truckee Meadows an even better place to live, work and raise a family.”
The EDAWN Foundation is a private nonprofit focused on promoting economic advancement in Northern Nevada through education about regional development opportunities (https://www.edawn.org/). The Washoe County School District serves more than 64,000 students across Reno/Sparks metropolitan area as well as Incline Village, Gerlach, and Wadsworth (https://www.washoeschools.net/).