2018 Gordon Parks Celebration
Photo Contest Winners Named

FORT SCOTT — Winners of the Gordon Parks Celebration “I Am Inspired By…” photo contest have been chosen. Thirty-four entries were received and the winner of First Place was Kole Wagner (Fort Scott) with his photo titled “First Love.” Second Place was Jennifer Yoder (Louisburg, KS) with her photo “Big Dreams.” Third Place was Kole Wagner with his photo, “Freedom Post.”

There were 5 Honorable Mentions named: “Ice Cream” by Miriam Mix (Fort Scott); “Puddle at Daylight” by Boguslaw Lowczyk (Roselle, Illinois); “Love Has No Labels” by Amanda Bourbina (Pittsburg, KS); “Everything is Beautiful on the Farm” by Stephen Robinson (Redfield, KS); and “Traversal” by Zoe McClure (Uniontown, KS).

First, Second and Third place winners received cash prizes of $100, $75, and $50 respectively and all finalists received a set of prints of Gordon Parks photos.

The contest was open to any non-professional photographer and was inspired by a quote by Parks: “Driven by an insatiable hunger, I still search for those things that inspire me—beautiful imagery, music, and literature.”

“We received good entries and the judges had a very difficult time making their choices,” said museum director Jill Warford. Judges for the competition were Merl Humphrey, Kassie Fugate-Cate, and Tammy Helm.

The photo exhibit is on display in the Lunt Lobby of the Ellis Fine Arts Center through October 15th. The building is open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.