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Tamima Al-Awar Memorial Scholarship

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Focus on the Masters and the Ventura County Arts Council announce
the Tamima Al-Awar Memorial Scholarship
$2,500 in scholarships available for students of the visual arts!

Focus on the Masters and the Ventura County Arts Council are joining together to provide scholarship funds and exhibition opportunities to high school seniors who plan to pursue art studies in college. The Tamima Al-Awar Memorial Scholarship program provides $2,500 in scholarships and the opportunity for all students applying for the scholarships to exhibit their work at the Ventura County Government Center in Ventura. The competition is open to high school seniors who reside in Ventura County and who show in their application a commitment to further study in the visual arts. Recipients for these scholarships are chosen by a distinguished panel of jurors from our art community, based on artistic merit and visual arts academic commitment as demonstrated by the student’s application, portfolio and essay submitted.

The jury panel is comprised of:

Susan Gerrard, Artist, Director of Marketing Museum of Ventura County

Tom McMillin, Artist, Professor of Art California State University Channel Islands

Joseph Piasentin, Artist, Professor of Art Pepperdine University

Elisse Pogofsky-Harris, Artist, Visual Arts Committee Ventura County Arts Council

Paula Spellman, Author/Artist

Applications are available at Focus on the Masters’ office located at 1147 East Main Street or at the Ventura County Arts Council’s office located at 646 County Square Drive. You can also download an application by clicking here.

Submissions must be signed by a faculty member of the student’s high school and submitted by the high school directly to Focus on the Masters. Each Ventura County high school can sponsor up to, but no more than, three applicants for this award.

All applications must be received by Focus on the Masters no later than Wednesday February 20, 2008 at 4 p.m. Incomplete or late submittals will not be reviewed.

All students applying for the scholarship will be invited to exhibit their work in a group exhibition at the Ventura County Government Center shown from March 13 through April 29, 2008. The scholarships will be presented to the recipients at the Opening Reception & Awards Ceremony March 13 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The Ventura County Government Center exhibition provides the students with the unique opportunity to exhibit their work in a prestigious venue and work with art professionals in a real life environment.

In Honor of Tamima Al-Awar

Tamima Al-Awar Memorial Scholarship was established by art patron Paula Spellman to honor Tamima Michele Al-Alwar, daughter of Khaled and Sheryl Al-Awar of Ojai. Before her death in 2002, Tamima planned to pursue a degree in fine arts. She pursued her art passionately at her home studio and at Santa Barbara City College. Her passion for painting and the arts is memorialized by this scholarship. Additional funding is provided by the Ventura County Arts Council, Affinity Bank and Roger Klausler to help even more students pursue a career in art. Focus on the Masters and the Ventura County Arts Council are non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations. Contributions to the scholarship fund are always welcome.