By Courtney Hughey
Staff Writer
The Manhattan Beach City Council held the first “I Heart Manhattan Beach” art exhibit at City Hall from Jan. 8-31 where residents were encouraged to submit their own artwork.
Local artists Mary Ann Collins and Don Spencer served as judges and chose winners. Those honored were Charles Lynn Bragg, James Gill and Cynthia Joyce with first place, second place and third place, respectively.
“The art displayed all aspects of Manhattan Beach that we can all appreciate,” Joyce said. “There were many of the pier, the heart of this city.”
The judges chose the 13 artworks to display in the exhibit out of a selection of 71 submissions.
“This art exhibit was a great start into giving people the opportunity to get involved in their community,” Manhattan Beach Mayor Wayne Powell said.
The City Council decided to hold the art exhibit after attending a conference for the League of California Cities in San Diego last September.
“I got the idea initially from an art contest about what makes Philadelphia the city of brotherly love,” Powell said. “We decided that a similar art contest would be great to get people involved in Manhattan Beach.”
The mayor and the City Council hope to make the “I Heart MB” art exhibit an annual event and to include it in many other art-centered community events organized by the city’s Cultural Arts Commission.
“We share love for our city, and participating in art contests like these are a great way to show it off,” Gill said. “They are effective in bringing people together in the community, and the Creative Arts Center has many programs to get the community involved.”
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