3 North Shore Students Earn $1K Salem Arts Association Scholarships

SALEM, MA — Two Salem High graduates join one from Gloucester High as this year's recipients of Salem Arts Association scholarships.

Gavin Legan of Salem High School, Allie Nicastro of Gloucester High School, and Chiara Cole of Salem High School each earned a $1,000 scholarship as they attend college with a focus on the arts this fall.

Works created by the scholarship winners will be on display at Salem Arts Association gallery at 159 Derby Street from June 4 through July 29 with the public invited to a scholarship award presentation on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Legan is the recipient of the 2022 Ellen Hardy Memorial Arts Scholarship. The Hardy Memorial Scholarship has been awarded since 2018 to a high school graduate working in any visual art, performance, or multimedia.

Legan is going to attend the University of Massachusetts after being a National Arts Honors Society student at Salem High and participating in advanced-placement art courses. He has been an active member of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Salem where he was a mentor to younger students and developed lesson plans involving environmental studies.

"I am inspired by bio-design and marine biology," Legan said. "My dream is to work with researchers at sea or on land connecting technology, marine life, and science to art. Helping spell out the complexities of science without using words — a science that reaches the visual and creative learners.

"Creating art through effective partnerships will make science accessible and relatable to a wide array of learners — learners like me — who thought they never had a chance."

Nicastro is the recipient of the Paula Beaulieu Memorial Art Scholarship. She plans to attend the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She was a National Honor Society and National Arts Honor Society student at Gloucester High.

The Beaulieu Memorial Art Scholarship has been awarded since 2014 to a high school graduate working in the visual arts.

Nicastro is a member of the Gloucester Youth Leadership Council, is on the Gloucester Citywide Arts Festival Committee as a student representative and teaches art classes at Art Haven. She created a mural at Gloucester High School, won a People's Choice award in the Crane Estate Student Art Show, earned two Silver Keys and one Gold Key in the scholastic Art and Writing Awards and will have one of the paintings hung in the Congressional Art Awards.

"The one thing that has always felt right is art," Nicastro said in her application. "My art makes me feel valuable, accomplished, and aware of who I am. Going to art school will allow me to create a lifetime revolving around my passion. It is crucial to me that I share my love of creating and inspiring.

"Art is not only my favorite way to express myself and spend my time, but also what makes me feel safe and complete."

Cole earned the Creative Collective Innovation Award, which is presented to a graduate from any Northshore school who demonstrates creative innovation in visual arts, performance, and multimedia. This award encourages inclusive innovation in any creative efforts and celebrates student achievements that take their talent to new places.

Cole plans to attend John Hopkins University after being part of the National Honor Society and National Arts Honor Society at Salem High. She was the creative director and editor of the school newspaper, was on the varsity tennis team, was a student leader of the Witch Mix Club, was a bilingual tutor, in the Salem High School Theater Club and has been featured at the Marblehead Arts Association and Neville Museum.

"As an artist, I am empowered to make a lifelong commitment of utilizing my art as a tool that ignites change, sparks discussions, and provides educational information for others," she said. "I am choosing to become an activist through art because art pushes me to push boundaries and critically express my emotions and thoughts.

"Receiving a university education allows me to strengthen the technical, conceptual, and professional skills needed for me to continue this pursuit. Additionally, pursuing higher education allows me to build connections with people of different backgrounds and push myself outside of my comfort zone."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)