Tam Senior Garners Fall Arts Fest Honor

senior heads off to sunny San Diego in the fall for her freshman year at UC-San Diego, but she’ll have good reason to return home early in the first semester.

Deng’s photography is part of this year’s , and she was awarded the event’s $500 Emerging Artist Scholarship “due to the exceptional aptitude she showed in photography,” according to , the festival’s past president and a fine arts teacher at Tam High.

Deng received her award at Tam High’s senior awards night late last month, and her photos will be on display as part of a Tam High student exhibit at the festival, set for Sept. 24-25 in .

“Photography is my passion because it allows me to draw attention to the beauty in our world, and show others what I notice that may go unnoticed,” Deng said. “A photograph perfectly captures a moment in time, preserving the life and emotions of the subjects.”

The Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival committee implemented the scholarship program in 2010 and plans to award one senior and one junior each year for excelling in the arts.

The committee chose Charlotte Passot, whose focus is drawing and painting, as this year’s junior honoree. She’ll receive her award at the festival in September.

Students interested in being considered for the award must fill out an application and submit samples of their work to be juried. Applicants must be Tam High Advanced Placement art student. Applicatios are available from college and career center at Tam in February and due in early May to Klein.