The City of Santa Clarita has announced the winners of the Sister Cities’ 2024 Young Artists and Authors Showcase awards.

Santa Clarita Sister Cities, in partnership with the City of Santa Clarita, is proud to announce the winners of the 2024 Young Artists and Authors Showcase (YAAS).

The local winners included:

•  Grace Lee (West Ranch High School) – Art (Classic Medium) – “Joined Together”

•  Samantha Diem (iLEAD Agua Dulce) – Art (Digital Medium) – “Moss”
•  Nina Nathan (Saugus High School) – Essay/Creative Writing – “Sustainable Sister Cities”

• Susmit Das (Academy of the Canyons) – Poetry – “Resilient Cities Navigating Climate’s Challenges”

• Gina Intravartolo (West Ranch High School) – Music (Original) – “The Choice is Yours”

• Sricharan Vagvala (Academy of the Canyons) – Photography – “Creeping Towards Beauty”

These students’ literary and art submissions, along with those of the finalists from Santa Clarita, were submitted to Sister Cities International in Washington, D.C., where they competed with over 325 entries from 21 countries around the globe, according to Sister Cities officials.

Two students representing Santa Clarita Sister Cities won at the international level:

•  Christabel Yun (Saugus High School) – Essay – “Greenhouse” – 3rd Place
•  Juliana Rose Dinglasan (Sariaya, Philippines) – Poetry – “Cityscape of Climate Champions” – 2nd Place

The annual YAAS gives youth the opportunity to express their vision for a more unified, peaceful world through original artwork, music and literature. The 2024 Showcase encouraged youth to  submit entries inspired by the theme, “CLIMATESCAPE: Resilient Cities for Tomorrow’s Climate.”

Students were encouraged to highlight the challenges of climate change and its impact on communities, as well as envision a climate-resilient and sustainable future and what that looks like to foster a brighter, more sustainable tomorrow, said Sister Cities officials.

Community members can view these students’ winning entries on the website.

The Santa Clarita Sister Cities program is a local organization that aims to foster international partnerships between the City of Santa Clarita and cities abroad, and promote mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation through reciprocal youth, cultural, educational, professional, humanitarian and economic programs and exchanges.

Sister Cities International is a non-profit organization created by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 to foster partnerships among communities around the globe and promote peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation one individual, one community at a time.

The City of Santa Clarita has international Sister Cities in Tena, Ecuador and Sariaya, Philippines.

For more information, visit the City website, or contact Tess Simgen at (661) 250-3726 or email [email protected].

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