Congratulations to the Winners of the 2024 Know Your Power Teen Arts Contest

Art is a powerful tool to share social messages and inspire change. Visual artists like Shepard Fairey, musicians like Beyonce and authors like Mira Jacob have used their creative voices to speak truth to power and raise awareness of the important issues facing us today. Pepco, the DC Public Library Foundation and DC Public Library invited D.C. teens to find their power and use it to creatively address a topic that is important to them. 

This year's Know Your Power submissions were thoughtful, well-crafted, and we were blown away by the pieces we received. Each one was not just expertly made, but also had a unique voice and fresh perspective on important civic issues. It's clear that teen voices have so much to say. The winners in Visual Art, Writing, and Film/Photography earned prizes to help them keep exploring their creativity and sharing their amazing ideas with the world. 

Learn More About Know Your Power

Winner | Ana, 17 | Tenley-Friendship Library 

Artist Statement: This piece is 19x24 in. It is called “Esperanza y Realidad” translating to “Hope and Reality”. This piece is of two children in poverty in the streets of Coyoacan, Mexico City. They play the accordion in exchange for spare money. The little girl on the left is around 7 years old, joyous and oblivious of the situation, she smiles with a child-like naïveté contrasting her brothers expression. He is older, mabye in his 10’s, just a few years apart but yet a solemn look is presented. Still a child, what responsibilities have fallen upon him as the “older” one? 

The reality is that more than half of the Mexican population younger than 18 lives in poverty, sacrificing their education for means of survival. These two children are one out of thousands. 

Runner-Up | Rita, 13 | Takoma Park Library 

Artist Statement: My piece is a visual representation of the harmful ideologies in society and how they affect women. The plants around her are all poisonous and they represent said ideologies that are harmful and are as an effect of things perpetuated in society about women. The water hemlock (the one in direct line of sight of the girl) represents the pressure on women to marry because it looks more similar to queen Anne’s lace and is used in many wedding arrangements around areas where it grows. The castor bean plant (large bush near her back with sea urchin like pea pods) could represent the pressure to appease to the beauty standard because of how quickly it grows and changes. And the oleander (pink flower tucked behind ear and growing from her hair) could represent insecurities because it is planted so close to her mind and is hidden because of its resemblance to the phlox flowers it is frequently mistaken for. The girl is painted blue because to represent the sadness and harm these ideologue cause on young women.

Image

Winner | Dakala, 18 | Shepherd Park/Juanita E. Thornton Library 

Artist Statement: My piece of writing is a poem a homelessness in Washinton, D.C. 
 

Homelessness in DC

In the heart of the power, beneath the marble grand, Lies a world forgotten, with the outstretched hand. The monuments stand tall, but their shadows cast, A veil over those who fortunes have pasted .

The streets of D.C, where history’s told, Are lined not just with hero’s but with souls turned cold. For every polished stone that gleams in the light, There’s a story untold, for an endless night . 

A bench becomes a bed, the stars a roof, As they search for warmth, remaining aloof. The city bustles, and yet they’re unseen, invisible citizens of a place so keen ,
They once had dreams, like you and me, But now they’re adrift on an urban sea, Their eyes tell tales of loss and need, As they navigate a world of indifference and greed .

So let us remember as we walk these streets, The silent struggles that each person meets. For in the shadow of monuments so tall, we find humanity, one and all .

Runner-Up | Destn, 17 | West End Library 

Artist Statement: This piece, is a powerful and poignant reflection on the struggles and resilience of Black men, particularly young Black men, in America. The poem delves deeply into the harsh realities faced by Black youth, such as systemic racism, violence, loss, and mental health challenges. It begins with an apology, expressing sorrow for the burdens and traumas that Black men have to bear from a young age. I acknowledge the precocious maturity forced upon Black children, the dangers they face, and the emotional toll of growing up in environments where survival is uncertain.
 

Black Man

Black man

I’m sorry for the card that’s dealt

I’m sorry you walking w problems you ain never dealt with

I’m sorry you got all these feelings that you’ve never felt

We worried bout our ice but through that journey our mental melts

I’m sorry for when you was taught to never cry

Sorry that your closest friends at a young age might have to die

Sorry that they say we equal in reality they lied and your success makes them regret they have
kept you here alive

Sorry you so strong but broken all inside

Sorry that your color got the highest rates of suicides

Sorry that your neighborhood is full of egos filled w pride and you might have to watch your back
ever-y-time you go outside

Sorry at the age of 9 you had to find ways to provide

And at the age of 12 you had the mind of someone 25

Sorry you don’t even think by 25 you’ll be alive

Sorry your freinds play w glocks and knives instead of swings and slides

They know more boutta ARP before they abs

They focus on their wants because they don’t know what they need

To be honest ian een think Id make it to 16

But now I’m sixteen just thankful that I’m living dreams

At The age of sixteen I done lived a couple lives
Fam and friends have stabbed my back with words that cut deeper then knives

Broken hearts and teary eyes cant bottle up because im wise

At age of 12 I had the brain of someone 25

I got hair on my lip

Well at least a little bit
And I got Taller so its harder to get passed by as a kid
Im the age where I’ll get killed in public if I have a fit
Im the age where children die from parties tryna get too lit
Im the age a couple of my friends aint even get to get or get to see
I am the age where other kids have wished to be
And other kids died before me
And life will cost you it ain free
So many died before my eyes so im just happy it ain me

16 comes w 16 issues
Some boulders on the way that leave the mark of sixteen tissues
Sixteen reason for your friends to pull out sixteen pistols
Sixteen reasons why yo mom might have to grieve and miss you
Sixteen reason why im happy that im talking w you
Im Happy you here now
Happy you alive cuz people die before where im around
Happy after this you gon lay in your bed and not the ground
Happy you ain die before you seen outside your local town
Happy you a prince that’s dreaming to receive someday a crown
Happy you a queen that isnt dead and waiting to be found
Happy you alive, well and fighting even with a frown
Happy you made it as far as here its only up from now

At 16 I seen alot of things
But with alot of sights you see now what a lot could bring
I see that we all need to change if we want better things
A pg county baby
Can we fix the dmv
I could have chose the bad direction but I had to question
If we all fall who’s gonna be the one to teach the lessons
Who’s gonna tell us don’t count bodys and start counting blessings
If we move left who’s gonna show us all the right direction ?

Me I gotta do it
Anything you said you been through swear to god that ive been through it
People don’t know how you feel but bro I know and I been through it
Black man
Im sorry our direction can get ruthless

Black man but I swear that if we try we can get through it

Mlk strived for a better picture
And to be honest we is messing up his Afro scripture
When he was here we couldn’t even go in liquor stores but now we can but now ev-e-ry corner
there’s stores for our liquor

He took a step to change but we need a step even bigger

I seen some brothers stab they back off of women and snickers

See what the white man did
Was put hatred in our hearts so we can turn further apart and we’ll kill ourselves quicker

Black men kill us for some simple as casual bicker

Black man only seen as joking or and known as a trickster

Black queens lost thinking they need a kardashian figure

Black man broken but is chosen to work as a fixer

Black boy wants to tote a triggere when ego is triggered

Black race we all need to change for the better and bigger

My dreams a beautiful picture
When we is equal and the devils the only one bitter
That’s my dream
That’s our dream
Black man

Winner | Madeline, 16 | Takoma Park Library 

Artist Statement: I came up with the idea, produced, and co-directed this documentary with three of my classmates. We created this documentary about gentrification, centering it around the street Kennedy Street, which is a street near my home that I noticed was rapidly undergoing these kinds of changes. With our documentary, we aimed to represent the stories of all underserved communities across the United States, who are particularly vulnerable to these changes. I interviewed business owners on Kennedy Street, as well as people on the street, capturing their firsthand accounts of the negative impacts they've observed. 
 

Runner-Up | Daniel, 16 | Shaw/Watha T. Daniel Library 

Artist Statement: Central Park, once the site of Seneca Village, a historic and culturally significant African American neighborhood, symbolizes the forced displacement of these communities, pushing them to the city's margins. This displacement continues today, evident in the neglected neighborhoods predominantly inhabited by African Americans.This pattern of displacement and gentrification is mirrored in the experience of Chinatown, where the New York County Criminal Court was built over parts of Chinatown, erasing cultural spaces and displacing residents and businesses of Chinatown. Despite protests from Chinatown citizens, their efforts were ultimately overridden by powerful billionaires and developers. Additionally, the presence of the NYPD, known for perpetuating systemic racism, further exacerbates the struggles of these marginalized communities, with African American individuals being disproportionately targeted and criminalized. These images call for an end to the cycle of gentrification and racial injustice, advocating for the preservation and empowerment of these communities, rather than their continued oppression and erasure.