BUFFALO, N.Y. — Villa Maria College played host to a first ever friendly art competition among Erie 1 BOCES students on Thrusday morning.
Middle and high school students from 10 different districts participated in the activity, in which they were all given a prompt and then an allotment of time to create a piece of art inspired by it.
"Today's prompt was music in motion, so they are creating a prompt based on their favorite song or genre," senior coordinator of arts and education Daniel Lynch said.
"I picked pop music because it helps keep me upbeat when things are hard," added student Ella Royer of North Tonawanda.
Matthew Mysliwi said, "Being an artist, being able to create and express yourself is super important I think. I think this is an awesome outlet for people to come and share their art."
Lynch said the word "competition" was being used loosely at the event.
"Today's more celebratory, so the students know that while this is a competition and they're competing for prizes, today's really just about showcasing their talents," he said.
Outreach education coordinator Jillian Torella added: "We're just reaffirmed that what we do here is relevant and growing, you know you see these students that are coming forward with all this talent and they would really thrive here at Villa."