When Rabbi Mendy Wineberg first saw the hanukkiah that would eventually be chosen as the grand-prize winner in the 2018 Hanukkah Art Contest, the first thing that came to mind was “and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,” which means turn to peaceful pursuits and away from war. The rabbi didn’t yet know the title of the winning piece of art — visualized and constructed by 9-year-old Evan Albee — was “Building a Peaceful World.” Evan won a $100 gift card to Amazon, supplied by Chabad of Leawood.
Evan’s entry was one of 33 submitted to the 22nd-annual Hanukkah Art Contest, sponsored by Chabad of Leawood, The Jewish Community Center (The J) and The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle. This was the largest group of entries submitted in several years.
Students in grades pre-K through eight were encouraged to submit an original piece of artwork or poetry that related to the story or celebration of Hanukkah. The entries were divided into three age categories: pre-K through first, second through fifth and sixth through eighth. The winners in each age category received a $50 gift card supplied by Chabad. All entrants were invited to attend Chabad’s annual Hanukkah on Ice party, which took place Tuesday night at The Ice at Park Place.
Evan’s grand-prize-winning entry is a hanukkiah made from plastic, metal, clay and hardware. The winners of the grade-level divisions are:
Pre-K through first — Ava Gordon, a decorative hanukkiah
Second through fifth — sisters Noya and Aviya Matta, a framed, beaded, decorative hanukkiah
Sixth through eighth — Eli Maker, a painting of a hanukkiah titled “Let the Light Shine”
Speaking for the judges, Stacey Belzer, The J’s director of family engagement, noted it was clear a lot of effort had gone into crafting this year’s art contest entries.
“There was such an extraordinary amount of creativity,” Belzer said. “In many cases it was hard to choose a winner.”
Chabad of Leawood’s Rabbi Wineberg has been a part of the Hanukkah Art Contest since its inception and over the years has seen a lot of art projects. It is clear through the children’s entries this year that they understand Hanukkah is not just about gifts, he said.
“As is often the case, many of our entries were hanukkiahs. The holiday is not about presents; it’s about light. The light of the menorah symbolizes light, or hope, will triumph over negativity,” Rabbi Wineberg explained.
Projects were created with a variety of materials, including clay, paint, Legos, beads, rocks and pencils.
“The creations showed anything can be turned into a piece of art and a piece of beauty,” Rabbi Wineberg said.
The grand-prize winner
The creator of the grand-prize-winning project, Evan Albee, is a fourth-grader at Brookridge Elementary School. The son of Beth and Lee Albee, who are members of Congregation Beth Shalom, Evan said the idea for his “Building a Peaceful World” hanukkiah “just popped into my mind.” He liked the idea because he wants “the world to be more peaceful without wars.”
He said the theme “Building a Peaceful World” goes well with Hanukkah because the holiday fills “my heart with joy” and fun.
Evan told his parents what he wanted to do, and they helped him figure out how to build the bone structure of the functional hanukkiah. It began with a plastic pipe connected to a heavy weight. Then coat hangers were wrapped around the pipe to make the arms of the hanukkiah. He then fashioned clay over the structure, adding the nails, screws, nuts and bolts to represent the building part of his theme. He finished the project by spray painting it silver.
He learned he had won the contest while he was attending Hebrew school. He was very excited and, he said, “My entire class clapped for me.”
Evan’s two siblings, Rivka and Danny, also entered the contest, all three for the first time. When their mother learned about it, she said, she told the kids it sounded like fun and they could design and create whatever they wanted.
“They all came up with their own ideas,” Beth Albee said. “It was very free flowing. For them, art has always been a way for them to express what they are feeling and how they see the world.”
Grade-level winners
Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy (HBHA) first-grader Ava Gordon entered the contest because she loved art. She is the daughter of Cipporah and Jaret Gordon. Ava’s mother said, “It’s one of her favorite things to do. She enjoys being creative.”
For her project, Ava used materials purchased at Scraps KC, a nonprofit creative reuse center and retail store that inspires creativity in art and education, positively impacting the environment and providing hope for the homeless. She came up with the idea and made it all herself, with a little help from her mom’s hot glue gun. The 7-year-old and her family attend Chabad of Leawood.
Sisters Noya and Aviya Matta collaborated on a decorative gold menorah designed with gold beads and glue to win the second through fifth-grade division. Noya is 8 and a half years old and a third-grader, and Aviya is a 10-year-old fifth-grader. The daughters of Orit and Benji Matta, both attend HBHA and are Israeli and Canadian. They have been here three years while Benji is doing a nephrology fellowship at Childrens Mercy Hospital.
Aviya came up with the idea to use beads in a Hanukkah picture, and she drew the outline of the menorah using an example. They used a toothpick to help stick the beads to the paper, using both regular and hot glue in the process, Noya explained.
They chose to use the color gold, Aviya said, because it stood out. In addition, she said gold also reminded her of the menorah in the Beit HaMikdash, Holy Temple.
Aviya added they had chosen to enter the contest because, “we love art and we are very good at art.”
The winner of the sixth to eight-grade division has been in the winner’s circle before. Eli Maker, who will be 13 on Saturday when he becomes a Bar Mitzvah at Congregation Beth Torah, has entered the contest six years in a row and has won his age division several times.
The son of Stephanie Kolb and Josh Maker, the seventh-grader at Lakewood Middle School painted a silver menorah on a blue background in his “Let the Light Shine” winning entry. He helped it stand out by adding a quote he likes on it:
A candle is a small thing
But one candle can light another
And see how its own light increases …
You are such a light.
Before they even knew the artwork was a winner, Eli’s family had decided to put an image of the painting and the quote on the front of his Bar Mitzvah program. Eli is eligible to enter the contest next year for the last time and says he will “for sure” enter again, because he “really likes painting and making the art.
“I think it’s super fun and I like competing.”
The following students submitted entries:
Grand prize: Evan Albee
Pre-K to first: Ava Gordon
Second to fifth: Noya and Aviya Matta
Sixth to eighth: Eli Maker
Danny Albee
Rivka Albee
Dahlia Feinberg
Liam Gordon
Maher Gordon
Gabbie Granoff
Zachary Granoff
Akiva Gruber
Meir Itkin
Zalman Itkin
Ariel Keshet
Linoy Keshet
Shia Kolb
Madi Kroll
Avery Luea
Jocelyn Luea
Shalev Matta
Yarden Matta
Moshe Mizrahi
Nadav Mizrahi
Noah Muller
Maya Muller
Ari Natenberg
Teddy Natenberg
Addie Rainey
Gavynn Rainey
Shefer Rudnick
Sroly Sosover
Levi Tiechtel
