LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky Derby Museum is pleased to announce the Grand Prize Winner of the 38th annual Horsing Around With Art (HAWA) competition, presented by WinStar Farm: Nadine Seckman, a Junior at Atherton High School.
Leaders from the Museum and Atherton surprised Seckman at school Tuesday morning with a dozen red roses and the news that she was the HAWA Grand Prize winner for 2024. The winning artwork will be professionally framed and displayed in the Museum for the next year. She also received a Spring Race Day Experience prize package sponsored by Churchill Downs, and the Museum awarded Atherton High School’s art department a $500 prize for art supplies.
The HAWA Grand Prize is awarded to the artist whose work best captures the spirit of the Kentucky Derby®. Churchill Downs Racetrack President Mike Anderson said Seckman’s piece embodied the emotion of Derby. “For 149 years, it’s been about the horse. And for Derby 150, this portrait of the horse in front of the Twin Spires captures the very spirit of the Kentucky Derby,” said Anderson.
This year, students in grades 1-12 from 37 different public, private, and parochial schools entered the juried contest, which showcases the students’ take on the Kentucky Derby in various artistic styles and mediums. All 258 entries, a record number for the annual student art contest, will be displayed on the second floor of the Museum from January 24 through May 8. The public can admire the artwork with a general admission ticket to the Museum.
“Supporting the arts through the Horsing Around With Art competition is a tradition we look forward to every year at Kentucky Derby Museum,” said Pat Armstrong, Kentucky Derby Museum President and CEO. “The students’ creativity is exceptional, and we’re very proud to show off their incredible talent in such a historic year with Derby 150.”
The Kentucky Derby Museum is giving out 62 awards, from the Grand Prize to Distinctive Awards, Divisional Awards, and Honorable Mentions. The Museum will also award $6,700 to the winning schools’ art departments. All winners and exhibiting students will be recognized in a special ceremony hosted by the Kentucky Derby Museum on February 27.
Judging started on Friday, January 19 and included: Patrick Armstrong, KDM President & CEO; Mike Anderson, Churchill Downs Racetrack President; Amy Nave, Office Manager and Executive Assistant to Elliott Walden, President, WinStar Farm; Jenny Pfanenstiel, Featured Milliner of the Kentucky Derby Museum; Kathy Bloch and Kathy Thistleton, KDM Outriders Volunteer Program members; Daryl Love, Ed Brown Society Executive Director; Gregory L. Harbut, Harbut Bloodstock President; Adrienne Miller, Artist & Museum Exhibitions Manager, Speed Art Museum; Rickelle Nelson, KDM Horsemen’s Relations & Reservation Manager; Dominic Guarnaschelli, Artist; Carrie Johns, Artist; and Bri Bowers, Artist.
