FIRE announces Art Contest winner: Emily Artigue

FIRE has a winner of our first-ever Art Contest: Emily Artigue, 18, a high school senior at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Emily was chosen for her original, mixed media piece entitled “America Unchained by the First Amendment.”

Entrants were asked to submit an original piece of artwork “involving or inspired by FIRE’s work” — for the chance to win a $200 Amazon gift card. Emily’s piece will now be displayed at FIRE’s Philadelphia headquarters.

“I have been creating art for as long as I can remember,” Emily tells FIRE, explaining the process behind creating and conceptualizing the piece.

“It took me a few weeks to create and went through several incarnations before I settled on the final design,” she said. “I spotted a stack of maps in our art supply room and was immediately attracted to the idea of overlaying that on a flag design, but I also wanted to counter that with something to create a sense of tension. I considered jail bars or handcuffs but settled on the idea of a chain and lock.”

“I want[ed] to conceptualize the freedom afforded to us by our Constitution, but simultaneously make people think about the volatility of that freedom, and how, at any moment, the lock could close.”

After graduation, Emily plans to attend Hope College in Holland, Michigan, as a double major in computer science and physics. We hope she finds time for more art, too!

Congrats, Emily!

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