Northwood High School Senior Heather Kim
Irvine Community News & Views congratulates Northwood High School Senior, Heather Kim, on being named a “2020 National YoungArts Foundation Merit” winner for her work in Visual Arts.
Each year, the National YoungArts Foundation identifies the most accomplished young artists in the visual, literary and performing arts, providing them with creative and professional development opportunities. Entrance into this prestigious organization starts with a highly competitive application process for talented artists ages 15–18, or grades 10-12, in the United States. The students are judged by an esteemed discipline-specific panel of artists through a rigorous blind adjudication process.
As a 2020 YoungArts award winner, Heather will be invited to participate in the organization’s regional programs next year in Miami, Los Angeles, and New York. She will also be invited to attend master classes and workshops, and receive mentorships from leaders in the art world.
Art piece titled “Buy Me”
When we sat down with Heather, she told us, “I am truly excited to have received a 2020 YoungArts award and am humbled to be a part of this group. My art explores societal indifference to human suffering and environmental devastation, so I am grateful to be able to share my artwork with a larger audience. I believe artists have a responsibility to constantly engage humanity in new discussions and continually drive the boundaries of what can be experienced, imagined, and conceptualized. As an artist, I hope to become someone who can take on this role and create art that is emotionally and intellectually meaningful to others.”
Having lived in Irvine for 16 years, Heather is especially grateful to the support she has received from the local community and her teachers at Northwood High School. Heather said, “I am truly grateful to have the support of my community and teachers as I continue to grow as an artist. Specifically, I want to thank Mr. Quigley and Mrs. Rohrs for helping me develop my work throughout high school. Mr. Quigley pushed me to consistently create artwork and Mrs. Rohrs gave me the opportunity to try different medium and work on unique artistic projects at school.”
Heather explained that she especially enjoys including the community in her art projects. For example, Heather encouraged the community to help her spotlight the exploitation of child labor by assisting her in disseminating one of her items. Heather mass-produced the art piece (titled “Buy Me”) in the form of keychains that were sold at school and local exhibitions. She then donated the profits.
After graduation, Heather plans to study art, hoping to attend a school that values interdisciplinary studies, so that she can further develop her artwork in conjunction with other subjects.
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