Marshall University announced Thursday the winners of the Dr. Carter G. Woodson Lyceum’s 2019 Black History Month Poster Competition.
Sandra Reed, a professor in the School of Art and Design, and Burnis Morris, the Dr. Carter G. Woodson professor at Marshall and professor of journalism and mass communications, presented awards to students from Marshall University and Cabell County Schools.
Marshall art student Zane Pinson earned the first place at the university, earning a $200 prize and the opportunity to have his work used on Marshall’s publicity materials for Black History Month 2019. Marshall art student Jerett Morrison earned a Merit Award.
The Cabell County Schools winners and their teachers were: Tayveon Wilson and teacher Carrie Fowler of Meadows Elementary; Hannah Carter and teacher Angela Webb of Barboursville Middle School; and Lyric Payne and teacher Diane Frazier of Huntington High.
“To capture the theme of Black Migration in my poster I focused on the Harlem Renaissance,” Pinson said of his award-winning design. “I created a map of Harlem using color swatches I painted and scanned into the computer. The brush strokes are meant to imitate paintings from the time. I also created the silhouette of an anonymous woman from the period dancing and enjoying herself. I didn’t want to focus on a single person; instead, I wanted the whole event. The ‘Black History Month’ text was inspired from a poster for a Louis Armstrong performance.”
Kyle Dyer, an adjunct faculty member at Marshall and JMC alumnus, mentored student participants from Marshall.
Participation in the competition compels students to learn about what they are helping to promote, said Reed, who chairs the poster competition committee.
“With a different theme each year, students who compete in the BHM poster competition build awareness of the contributions and experiences of African Americans,” Reed said. “So, while the students are applying knowledge of design principles and tools as an apparent objective of the BHM poster competition, more importantly, they are forming a persuasive and positive image to represent their knowledge and empathy.”
Reed also thanked her fellow committee members, David Harris, Montserrat Miller, Tijah Bumgarner, Mary Grassell and Hunter Barclay, with support from Morris of the lyceum.
