By Parnia Mazhar
Executive Opinion Editor
Manhattan Beach held the Why I Heart MB exhibition from Feb. 21 through March 16, 2017 to showcase original artwork from Manhattan Beach residents about why they admire the city.
The exhibition was located at Manhattan Beach City Hall and showcased each of the 39 artists that applied to the Why I Heart MB contest several days prior. The exhibition was open to the public throughout this time.
“The purpose of this contest is to create community involvement and community pride and to show how talented local artists are,” Cultural Arts Manager Martin Betz said.
The artists who submitted pieces ranged from Manhattan Beach Middle School students to Manhattan Beach adults. Their artwork varied from oil paints to pastels to photography.
Each year the number of outstanding artist participants and the number of visitors increases,” Councilmember Wayne Powell said. “There were so many exceptional paintings, drawings and photographs depicting Manhattan Beach scenery.”
Prior to the exhibition, the city held a contest with the same theme. All the artwork was adjudicated by Cynda Valle, who is part of the Very Cinematic Narrative exhibition at the Manhattan Beach art Center. From the submissions, she selected three winners.
“Fortunately, I wasn’t one of the professional juried art judges because in my mind all of the art that was submitted was magnificent,” Powell said.
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First place went to Irene White who created a photo compilation of various Manhattan Beach views.Second place went to Sue Ann Sinay who created a pastel piece known as “Jogging Trail at Sunset”. Middle school student Cora Uchida won third place for her painting known as “Manhattan Beach Sunset.”
“My favorite part of the contest is when the prizes are announced and always one of the winners is a young person,” Betz said. “This always runs against what the adults think is going to happen.”
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This was the fourth year the city held this art competition, which was headed by Powell. Although Powell is terming out of his position this year, he hopes the contest will be continued for years to come.
“My Mayoral theme of ‘I Heart MB’ was a way for our residents to make a difference in our community by volunteering,” Powell said.
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