At the Carnegie Heritage Center in Edgartown on Tuesday, the Vineyard Preservation Trust — in the midst of celebrating fifty years — honored five Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) students for art and writing relating to the trust’s historical landmarks.
The celebration was the culmination of the Trust’s inaugural Island Inspiration Contest, which invited students from Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School to submit original essays and artwork inspired by the Vineyard’s historic landmarks.
Among winning entrants announced on Tuesday was Tevin Araujo who tied for first place with his photograph of the Flying Horses in Oak Bluffs, alongside Maria Barros who tied for first with her essay; both first place entries received $1,000.
Nathanial Karlinksy took second place and $500 for his photograph of someone jumping for joy in front of the Grange Hall, and Eliza Belle Carestia also placed second and received $500 for her digital art collage of the Union Chapel and Old Whaling Church. Nevada Fitzgerald was an honorable mention for her hand-drawn artwork, taking $50 home.
Roughly 20-30 students, friends, and parents started filtering into the Carnegie Tuesday evening, perusing submissions on display.
After being seated to kickoff the awards ceremony, Molly Pogue, a former MVRHS student and the marketing manager for the Trust, opened the ceremony, sharing her joy in seeing fellow Island students find interest in the Vineyards historic landmarks.
“It has been a special full circle moment to have a younger generation find a connection to these historic landmarks we all know and love,” said Pogue at the Carnegie on Tuesday.
Pogue said they chose the theme for the contest as “Island Inspiration” because the Trust wanted to see how the different Vineyard Preservation Trust properties inspired students. The students could choose the medium of their choice.
“We decided to spread this across a variety of different mediums, from sculptures to short stories and more so students could utilize their own unique voices,” she added.
Julie Hatt the Events and Cultivation Director took to the podium next thanking the crowd for attending and students for participating, and honoring the dedicated teachers like Chris Baer, Katheryn Hennigan, and Christine Farrone.
“They were our support, they were our rocks,” she said.
Hatt also said that the goal of the contest is to share with the next generation the value in preserving iconic and historic land and buildings.
“How do we get this word out to the next generation about who we are and what we do? Can you imagine going down Main Street without that Old Whaling Church. And Carnegie,” said Hatt. “These buildings are historic and they are going to be here for generations to come because of the work we are putting into it now.”
“With your desire and from this one contest, [we hope] there’s one student out there that kind of finds the same love that we do for these buildings, which is hard because they’re buildings,” she added.
Nevett Previd, the executive director of the Vineyard Preservation Trust, and Josh McCall, the president, took to the podium to thank the crowd for their interest, and honored Hatt and Pogue for their hard work in getting the contest started to teach the younger generations about the value of preservation.
After the students were honored for their submissions that won, proud families and friends took to the Carnegie Heritage Centers front lawn to celebrate and snap photos.