A short digital animation (above) by Rebekah Neussl of Washington Community High School was the top winner in the design/digital art category of the 2025 Creative Futures online high school art contest sponsored by the SIU Carbondale School of Art and Design. Other winners were Tommy Pinski of Civic Memorial High School in 2D art and Keegan Medlock of Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School. (Images provided)
May 12, 2025
Three Illinois high school students win 2025 SIU Creative Futures art awards
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The talents of Illinois high school juniors and seniors were evident at the second Southern Illinois University Carbondale School of Art and Design statewide online art competition.
Winners in the second Creative Futures were announced May 5, with the top three finishers in areas from each of the three categories selected by SIU faculty. The categories were — 2D art (painting, drawing, printmaking and photography), 3D art (ceramics, glass, metals and sculpture), and design and digital art (web/graphic design, industrial design, animation and video).
Travis Janssen, an assistant director and associate professor in the School of Art and Design, said entries came from throughout the state, and this year’s submissions were “very diverse,” particularly in the design/digital art category which included video, 3D modeling, animation, digital illustration and web design entries.
“There were many high-quality, well-crafted submissions this year,” he said. “I think the jury also weighed character and concept quite a bit when scoring the works. Standout works often have a certain presence that sticks with you after viewing it, and there were many pieces I continued reflecting upon well after jurying the show.”
The online exhibition will be available for viewing through May 4, 2026.
Pattie Chalmers, a professor and head of graduate studies in the School of Art and Design, said she was pleased with the quality of entries.
“It was my pleasure to review the artwork of these talented high school students,” Chalmers said. “I was impressed by the diversity of media and advanced conceptual approaches of these young artists. Their art teachers should be congratulated.”
Prizes awarded
The top three students in each of the categories will receive gift cards of $100, $75 and $50 respectively from Blick Art Materials, a Galesburg, Illinois-based company that began in 1911.
“As a major art supply company, Blick is well known for their broad selection of wares,” Janssen said. “I’m certain all of the award winners won’t have a hard time picking out supplies for their next creative endeavor."
Janssen said as the competition grows, “we are certain to garner more applications from even more schools — and talented student-artists — in the future.”
The honored students are:
2D art
- First place — Tommy Pinski, senior, Civic Memorial High School, Bethalto.
- Second place — Betty Logsdon, senior, Sesser-Valier High School, Sesser.
- Third place — Ina Limbu, junior, Wheaton Warrenville South High School, Wheaton.
3D art
- First place — Keegan Medlock, senior, Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School, Paxton.
- Second place — Zara Omotola, senior, Edwardsville High School, Edwardsville.
- Third place — Audry Hart, junior, Washington Community High School, Washington.
Design, digital art
- First place — Rebekah Neussl, senior, Washington Community High School, Washington.
- Second place — Paige Severs, senior, Goreville High School, Goreville.
- Third place — Elyse Tregoning, junior, Niles Township High School West, Skokie.
