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1st place: “Lady Liberty Caged”
Tanaka Manhede
BS in Neuroscience: Systems, Behavior, and Plasticity
Honors Program
College of Liberal Arts | Temple University
Description: For my artwork, many meanings can be extracted. However, in a world where environmental justice becomes an increasingly important issue, I felt that exploring the life of immigrants and the humble and unfair beginnings they face is important. Their journey, as represented through my artwork, typically starts in a city where jobs are readily available. I have set the scene in my work to be Brooklyn, where the majority of the city is populated with immigrants. Lady Liberty is fenced inside because not only did I want to bring awareness to the terrible treatment of many immigrants at the US-Mexico border, but I also made it a point to show that even if immigrants make it to the US there are still obstacles they face. Unfortunately, many neighborhoods within Brooklyn with heavy immigrant populations are disinvested. This inevitably leaves the effects of pollution unchecked without green investments in trees being planted, parks, and frequent recycling efforts. Further, there is little advocacy on behalf of minoritized neighborhoods against commercial hazardous waste emanating from factories and plants. Air, noise, and land pollutions morph into another problem: a public health issue where we see race-based health disparities. I made sure to give the viewer the perspective of being in the cage, looking out to resemble being in someone’s position, encouraging empathy. “
2nd place: “San Francisco v. EPA”*
Ava Greene Austin-Spooner
Political Science Major / CLA
Description: On March 4, SCOTUS released their decision in the case, City and County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency. This case was decided in a 5–4 vote, and effectively allows cities and counties to dump sewage into natural bodies of water without EPA regulation. I think this is an environmental injustice that will impact animals, water quality, and pollution.
3rd place: “Justice is Blinded”
Lucas Bowerman
Political Science Major Criminal Justice / CLA
Description: The painting depicts Lady Justice in the center, blinded by wealth and money and holding up an oil pump instead of the scales of justice. She is flanked by a fossil fuel power plant, the Capitol Building, and a commercial airliner. My work was inspired by the presidential administration’s desire to remove environmental regulations in the service of the fossil fuel industry, hijacking the government bodies that are meant to ensure that everyone has equal access to a clean environment.
*Do not use, reproduce, alter, etc. without creator’s permission