The Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation (EAFF) held a reception this week for the 2016 selectees for university-level scholarships in the visual arts presented through the foundation’s Scholarship Program.

Scholarship Program Committee Chair Dawn McLellan, introduced each student, providing them the opportunity to speak briefly about a piece of their artwork.

Others in attendance included the EAF Foundation Board of Directors, EAF President Diane Cutts and members of the Festival Board of Directors, and special guests from the Edmonds Community College Dr. Kim Chapman, Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences Division, and Melissa Newell and Minh Carrico, Co-chairs of the Visual Arts Department.

The EAFF scholarship program began in 1983, with one award for one student. This year twenty scholarships were awarded to students working toward degrees in the area of visual arts.

The scholarship winners include:

Jessica Phung, graduating from Mountlake Terrace High School, will be attending Shoreline Community College. She received the “Anna E. Sambataro Memorial Fine Arts Scholarship” provided by the Sambataro Family Foundation and selected using the EAF Foundation criteria.

Rachel Bragg, graduating from Edmonds Heights K-12, will be attending Cedarville University.

Students selected from the Edmonds Community College Visual Arts Program and who will continue their study at Edmonds CC are Isabelle Berry, Taylor Fridenmaker, Thao Pham, Anabel Graciela, Celine Tjahjadi, Kjasa Myhre, Frederick Monroe, Jamie Hennessy, Enani Rubio and Sujin Ryu.

Students who have been awarded previous scholarships and received renewals this year are: Amy Pierce at Digipen Institute of Technology, JiEon Lee at Rochester Institute of Technology, JiSeon Lee attending the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Ginger Wilson attending Evergreen State College, Katy Childs attending Central Washington University, Trisha Spicer attending Edmonds Community College, Catherine Brown attending North Seattle Community College and Benjamin Vanderwerff attending Edmonds Community College.

The community may view the work of these students, which is exhibited in the Juried Art Gallery, in the gymnasium of the Frances Anderson Center building, 700 Main St. in Edmonds, during the upcoming Edmonds Arts Festival, June 17, 18 and 19.

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Funding of the programs of the EAF Foundation comes from support of the Edmonds Arts Festival and individual donations received throughout the year. An endowment for the Scholarship Program was secured several years ago, assuring this support for higher education in the visual arts.

For additional information about the EAFF Scholarship Program please visit www.eaffoundation.org