Spokane Community Observance of the Holocaust 2018 Art and Essay Contests, second and third place art entry selections

Here are images and descriptions of the second- and third-place selections for the middle school division art entries in the annual Spokane Community Observance of the Holocaust Art and Essay Contests.

“No More Hate – Combating Hate Speech”

Hate speech is defined as when a person speaks in a way that is meant to offend, insult, threaten or intimidate a group or individual because of a trait/attribute. For instance, many people are targeted because of sexual orientation, religion, gender, color or disability. My reasoning for the project is that I believe that when somebody is aware of the hate spewed, it pushes them to take action. That is why my piece shows phrases and slurs that were and are being used in the Holocaust and nowadays. As for my project, I used scrap wood and older, tattered paper to show that sometimes, when people are the target for hate speech they can feel discounted and even worthless. At times, all you can do is gather the scraps to fight. Also, pieces are burnt to show how people are burned, or hurt by the hate thrown at them. Thank you for viewing my piece, I hope you like it!

Madelynne Sherwood,

“Hate Hurts”

In the artwork, you can see that people are directing hate speech to one person. The more people that direct hate speech at them, the more hate they are filled with. Eventually, someone comes and says kind things to them and the hate starts draining out of them and is replaced with love. You can see many others supporting them and offering help along with kind words. When hateful things are said to you, it makes you feel small and insignificant, because hate hurts. When they are filled with love and all the hate is gone, they get the strength to keep going.

Mackenzie Cooper,