Clinton hosted the annual High School Fine Arts Day event as part of Community College Month hosted throughout the Eastern Iowa Community Colleges. Area high schools are invited to participate in this program which celebrates art in four categories including painting, drawing, graphic arts, and mixed media. A reception was held on April 9 to exhibit the work and to announce the winners.
55 entries were received into the 2026 contest, demonstrating the talent of area high school students. Clinton Community College (CCC) President Dr. Brian Kelly commented, “It’s a great time of year to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our local high school artist. The depth of style and perspectives is always amazing.”
Photographed in Charcoal - Kyra Schafer
Reimagine of Peter Ruben's Proetheus bound - Grace Kaye
Knowing the End is Near - Marissa Fee
Penitence - Eloise Brisch
Fine Arts Committee Chairperson Courtney Pritchard shared, “This event is a great chance to see and showcase what our local high school students are producing. Their range and ability is amazing, and it's wonderful to see how some of them grow in their art every year when they enter.”
The first-place submittal receives a CCC Paul B. Sharar Foundation tuition voucher for a 3-credit class at Clinton Community College. Second-place winners receive a $50 gift card for arts supplies, funded through the Paul B. Sharar Foundation.
The 2026 winners are:
- Drawing
- First Place: Photographed in Charcoal - Kyra Schafer, Clinton High School
- Second Place: The Beauty of Identity - Cupid Bowman, Clinton High School
- Graphic Arts
- First Place: Penitence - Eloise Brisch, Clinton High School
- Second Place: All seeing - Blake Foster, Clinton High School
- Mixed Media
- First Place: Reimagine of Peter Ruben's Prometheus bound - Grace Kaye
- Second Place: Love over hate - Lilly Lampe
- Painting
- First Place: knowing the end is near - Marissa Fee
- Second Place: City Lights - Audri Guldner
The community is invited to see the winning artwork currently exhibited in the Clinton Community College Library Art Gallery, 1000 Lincoln Blvd., Clinton, IA.