Among the top Hazee Awards youth winners: Akeira Anseth shown with her mother and her winning entry (top right); Jihoon Koo with his artwork (lower right); Layla Barker, left, and Sarah Koo shown together with Nora and Rob Rongve (top left); and Sarah Koo again shown with her artwork (bottom left). (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff) .

By Angela Brown

Tribute to Hazel Asmussen

Hazee Awards youth art competition winners announced

May 4, 2022 | 2:34 PM

It was an exciting time at North Battleford’s Chapel Gallery Tuesday evening when the Hazee Awards youth art competition winners were named.

The annual competition was spearheaded by Rob and Nora Rongve as a tribute to the memory of the late Hazel Asmussen, a dedicated artist who inspired others to share her joy of the craft. The “Rob and Nora Rongve Family Fund” sponsors the event as a way to encourage youth interested in the visual arts.

City of North Battleford curator and manager of Galleries Leah Garven said the Hazee show and competition continues to grow. This year 41 submissions were received, with the program expanded to include a Junior Awards category.

“It was a terrific success,” Garven said. “The recipients were pretty excited. I think it’s been a good milestone for them in their young lives.”

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Rob Rongve was also thrilled with the number of entries this year.

“The amount of art that was entered and the quality just seems to be getting better and better all the time,” he said. “And the fact that most of the winners were here tonight I think is a testament to the excitement hopefully that it’s generating for art. We couldn’t be happier.”

The first place prize winner for the top Hazee Award was 13-year-old Akeira Anseth for her piece “Lii Bufloo.” Anseth is a young Métis artist from Cut Knife.

Here is the list of all the winners:

For the Hazee Awards for Grades 5 to 12: first place Akeira Anseth for “Lii Bufloo,” second place Jihoon Koo for “The Empty Café,” and for the Creative Excellence third place award a tie with Sarah Koo for “Art is My Joy” and Layla Barker for “Release” as the recipients.

Honourable mentions: Hannah Choi for “Changes of the World,” Leianna Kiseyinwakup for “Sunset Over the Ocean,” Presley Weber for “Fierce Soldier,” Brianna Elizabeth Gratton for “Looking for Tomorrow,” Karl Jillian Villanueva for “Silver Lining,” Drake Phommavong for “Possible” and Mikayla Wisner for “You Make Me Feel Alive.”

And for the Junior Awards for Grades 1 to 4: first place Rose Hoffman for “Nature’s Swing,” second place Lauren Weber for “A Quiet Sit,” third place Flynn Kramer for “My Dad’s Moose.” Honourable mentions: Cohen Lafreniere for “The Sunset with My Best Friend” and Jolie Malo for “The Tree of Love.”

For the Hazee Awards Grades 5 to 12, the first place winner received a $500 prize, 2nd place Artistic Achievement $300, and third place Creative Excellence $100 each for the two recipients. Honourable mentions received $50 each. For the Junior Awards, the top winner received a prize for $100, while other recipients collected $50 each.

The Hazee Awards art exhibition will continue to run at the gallery until May 8.

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angela.brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW