2021 Art Student Champion, Ryann Esteban

Proudly nominated by Selina Mach, Project GRAD Kenai Peninsula

Alaska Arts Education Consortium named Ryann Esteban the 2021 Arts Student Champion for art, "No More Lost Sisters." All three of this year's Champions will be unveiled during an online show released on April 15, 2021, World Art Day. As the Arts Student Champion, Ryann Esteban also has the featured student artist display space within the 2021 Alaska's Heart through Student Art Show and will receive a small scholarship from proceeds of this year's art auction.

Learn More

No More Lost Sisters

Ryann recently created a piece of artwork, titled “No More Lost Sisters,” to raise awareness about the national epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

In this piece, Ryann intentionally used a faceless woman as the focal point, as she represents the countless Indigenous women who have disappeared or died. Ryann felt that giving the woman a face would have made it more focused on the individual, whereas allowing the woman to be faceless would allow for all of the missing women to be represented and honored.

As an Alaska Native young woman, this piece showcases not only Ryann’s strength and resilience, but also her willingness to be vulnerable through her artwork. While I find her artwork to be quite breathtaking, it is Ryann’s ongoing commitment to highlighting her cultural traditions and human rights issues through her artwork that is truly inspiring.

The crown on the woman’s head represents women as divine beings, while the hand prints represent solidarity with the missing and murdered Indigenous women throughout North America.

About Ryann Esteban

A junior at Port Graham school, Ryann is someone whose presence is felt at the very moment you walk into the classroom. She is kind, confident, and brings a good attitude and sense of humor to everything that she does.

In the summer of 2016, Ryann received a scholarship to attend Sitka Fine Arts Camp, where she had the opportunity to explore her artistic interests and skills. Since that time, Ryann has developed into a well-rounded young artist who is comfortable across multiple artistic mediums.

Leader of Arts Education
While Ryann is a talented and dedicated arts student, she is also a leader of arts education within her community. In December, Ryann helped to lead her peers in the creation of handmade dreamcatchers as part of a suicide prevention program. In collaboration with two other high school students, Ryann led the 5th through 12th grade students in creating their own personalized dreamcatchers as a way to identify their hopes, goals, and dreams for the future.

One common theme throughout Ryann’s artwork is her connection to her Sugpiaq culture. Ryann’s artwork is also often tied to social justice and human rights issues, with a focus on bringing awareness to the issue at hand.

---

Ryan is a member of Student Council, Native Youth Olympics, a Sources of Strength youth leader at school, and a teen member on the Port Graham Native Council. Ryann also independently created artwork for a sweatshirt that amplified the voices of missing and murdered indigenous women.

Learn More