Expressions by Walgreens Art Challenge Announces 2022 Winners

Walgreens is pleased to announce the winners of its 12^th annual Expressions by Walgreens national art challenge. The competition encourages high school students to create entries in the areas of visual arts, spoken word, and media arts. Monetary awards are given to first, second and third place winners in each category. This year the contest drew in close to 3,400 entries, and a national panel of judges blindly voted to select category winners.

“Walgreens congratulates this year’s winners and every student who entered the Expressions Challenge,” said John Gremer, Walgreens senior director, community relations. “We’re honored to recognize their talents, and we applaud all of the teachers, family, friends and mentors who encouraged them to use their voices. It’s a joy to extend Walgreens commitment to building healthier communities through an effort that inspires youth to positively engage in self-expression.”

In addition to the category awards, one submission receives the “People’s Choice” award for garnering the most public votes, and for the past two years, two students have been selected for “Heritage Awards”—one from Chicago and one from St. Louis—to recognize the markets where the contest first launched. This year Expressions by Walgreens unveiled a new award category, Teachers’ Champions, recognizing four educators who support teens through their classrooms and mentorship. Following are award recipients in all categories:

Visual Arts
First:		“Avoidance”, Isabela Arca, Van Nuys High School, Sherman Oaks, CA
Second:		“Cyclic”, Deeksha Bompada, Independence High School, Frisco, TX
Third:		“Helping Hands”, Chloe Jung, Bergen County Academies, Closter, NJ
Spoken Word
First Place:		“Keep Dreaming Kid”, Makhia Smith, Central High School, Memphis
Second:		“Let Your Life Speak”, Cydney Brown, Abington Friends High School in Philadelphia