Harriton Artists Honored in International Visual Arts Competition

Two Harriton High School students were selected as winners in the 2026 ARTEFFECT Competition, an international visual arts program that invites students to create original artwork inspired by Unsung Heroes from history.

Owen Pierson, Grade 11, and Atlas De Pasquale-Stern, Grade 10, earned ARTEFFECT Spotlight Prizes in the Sculpture/3D category for their metal arts entries, which were created as part of Harriton’s Metal Arts 3–4H course led by Laura Labrinakos. The Spotlight Prize recognizes award-winning student work in featured categories beyond the competition’s top overall honors. In addition to those awards, Lila Siniscalchi, Myka Wilkes and Jacob Gastner were also recognized as finalists in this year’s competition.

For the project, Harriton Metal Arts 3–4H students were challenged to use advanced metalworking and design skills to create artworks honoring individuals from American history whose selfless contributions remain largely unrecognized. Students researched their chosen Unsung Heroes, translated those stories into symbolic works of art and wrote impact statements analyzing each figure’s legacy while explaining how their artistic choices helped communicate that story.

This year, ARTEFFECT received a record-breaking number of submissions from students around the world, with the 2026 finalist pool growing 15 percent over 2025. The 201 finalist projects were created by 52 middle school students and 149 high school students representing 32 U.S. states and 15 countries. Together, those students interpreted the stories of 89 Unsung Heroes through a wide range of artistic styles and media.

Among Harriton’s honored students were:

• Atlas De Pasquale-Stern (Grade 10)
  • Title: Cliffs
  • Nickel, brass, copper and leather sculpture
  • 5 x 9 x 1 in.
  • De Pasquale-Stern’s work honors Mary Anning and uses the shape of the cliffs where Anning worked to symbolize the hardships and prejudice she overcame. In the artist’s impact statement, De Pasquale-Stern explained a desire to focus on texture and etching, spending significant time creating a rock-like surface that conveyed the steepness and difficulty of those cliffs.
• Owen Pierson (Grade 11)
  • Title: Inventor of the Record
  • Brass sculpture
  • 18 x 2.25 x 0.25 in.
  • Pierson’s piece honoring Emile Berliner uses a large loop form to symbolize the way recorded audio has connected people through music. As Pierson wrote in the impact statement, the work represents how audio technology has brought people together, “allowing for everyone to connect over music like links of a chain.”

Harriton’s additional 2026 ARTEFFECT finalists included:

• Lila Siniscalchi (Grade 11)
  • Title: Brewing Freedom
  • Brass, nickel, copper sculpture with string and paper
  • Unsung Hero: Sarah Bradlee Fulton
• Myka Wilkes (Grade 10)
  • Title: The World Through Her Eyes
  • Brass, copper, nickel sculpture
  • Unsung Hero: Marie Tharp
• Jacob Gastner (Grade 10)
  • Through Hardship, Reaching a Greater Cause
  • Copper, brass, nickel sculpture
  • Unsung Hero: Terry Fox

Founded in 2016 by Lowell Milken, ARTEFFECT extends the mission of the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes, which engages students and educators in project-based learning centered on overlooked individuals whose actions positively shaped history. Through competitions, fellowships and exhibitions, ARTEFFECT encourages students to explore stories of courage, compassion and perseverance and bring them to life through art.

Congratulations to Owen, Atlas, Lila, Myka and Jacob on this outstanding recognition!