Three former Robertsville Middle School students swept the Middle School Visual Arts category in the statewide 2024 Mira Kimmelman ‘Learning from the Holocaust’ Contest, sponsored by the Tennessee Holocaust Commission and the Kimmelman family. Each student created the project as part of the Holocaust/World War II Passion Based Learning (PBL) unit in Dr. Julie Kinder-McMillan’s eighth grade English Language Arts class at Robertsville last year and are now freshmen at Oak Ridge High School.
Preston Reed won first place and a cash prize of $500 for his model of Auschwitz concentration camp, where Mira Kimmelman was imprisoned in 1944.
Second place and a cash prize of $300 went to Taylor Cowan, who sculpted a bust of Kimmelman paired with a tri-fold poster telling details of her journey through the Holocaust, which were recounted in Kimmelman’s book Echoes from the Holocaust.
The third-place winner was Ursula Weatherford, whose artistic depiction of a scene from Kimmelman’s book earned her a $150 cash prize.
“For three years, I had the honor and privilege of being the art teacher to Preston, Taylor, and Ursula,” said Sean Seyfert, Robertsville Art Teacher. “With these newest accomplishments, I cannot help but be completely filled with pride as I watch them grow into the amazing artists and individuals I’ve always known they would become. Congratulations to all.”
The contest was started in 2021 in honor of late Holocaust survivor and Oak Ridge resident, Mira Kimmelman. Categories include Community College Visual Arts, High School Essay, High School Visual Arts, Middle School Essay, and Middle School Visual Arts. Information about the 2025 contest, as well as more information about the winning projects, will be located at https://tnholcom.org/kimmelman-contest.
