DES MOINES – It's spring time and that means Iowa's high school seniors are finishing classes and getting ready for graduation in a few weeks.
Meanwhile, three of them – Abby Kate Boeschen of Urbandale, Audrey Fashimpaur of Cedar Rapids and Caylee Fuqua of Ames – took a major step toward their college careers Tuesday when Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg presented them with the 2019 Iowa Scholarship for the Arts awards during a ceremony at the State Capitol.
"An education in the arts not only prepares students to pursue their hopes and dreams as artists, it also gives them a solid foundation where their creativity and critical-thinking skills can flourish," Gregg said. "It is a great joy to recognize these students for their exceptional artistic ability and to know each of them will continue their educational careers right here in Iowa."
The Iowa Arts Council awards the Iowa Scholarships for the Arts annually to Iowa high school students with a proven artistic ability in dance, literature, music, theater, traditional arts or visual arts who plan to attend an Iowa college or university during the next academic year and pursue a major in the arts. Each student will receive $1,500 toward her 2019-2020 college tuition and related expenses as a full-time undergraduate at a fully accredited Iowa college or university.
Boeschen will study vocal performance next year at Drake University. She is passionate about opera and was accepted into the International Lyric Academy in Italy last summer. She also received first place at the Iowa District NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) Competition the last two years and sang a master class sponsored by Des Moines Metro Opera's Opera Iowa program last spring.
Fashimpaur will study studio/visual art and chemistry at Luther College or Drake University. Currently, she works in 2D art forms with charcoal, pencil, acrylic paint, ink pens and water colors. She has an interest in art history and hopes to attend graduate school to study art conservation.
Fuqua will study printmaking at the University of Iowa, where she will pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a goal of becoming a teacher or therapist while continuing to draw, paint and explore her interests in art and nature. She has won numerous scholastic art and writing awards and was one of three high school artists in Iowa nominated for the American Visions Award. She also received a National Gold Key at Carnegie Hall in 2017.
The Iowa Scholarship for the Arts was founded in 1986 with proceeds from a benefit concert by world-renowned opera singer and native Iowan Simon Estes as well as contributions from organizations and private citizens to ensure outstanding young artists continue to be recognized and educated in Iowa.
The Iowa Arts Council is a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs.
The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and its three divisions – the Iowa Arts Council, Produce Iowa - State Office of Media Production and the State Historical Society of Iowa – empower Iowa to build and sustain culturally vibrant communities by connecting Iowans to the people, places and points of pride that define our state. The department’s work enables Iowa to be recognized as a state that fosters creativity and serves as a catalyst for innovation where the stories of Iowa are preserved and communicated to connect past, present and future generations.