MONUMENT — The Palmer Lake Art Group, a community dedicated to fostering artistic connection in northern El Paso County, hosted a silent auction this past Saturday to raise additional funding for its long-running scholarship program aimed at supporting graduating high school seniors who plan to pursue art.
Since the 1970s, the group has awarded scholarships to high school seniors in District 38 who have demonstrated a commitment to art and plan to continue their studies. The program has awarded more than $90,000 total, typically distributing two or three scholarships each year.
"Just this last year, we had two students who were awarded those scholarships, one at Lewis Palmer High School and one at Palmer Ridge," said Kathleen Seelye of the Palmer Lake Art Group.
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"We believe that the investment into these young students is so important in helping them see an opportunity for art in their career," Seelye said.
This year, the group added a silent auction to its typical funding efforts, with members donating art and art supplies to benefit the program. The goal is to grow the auction format year over year and eventually open it to the public.
"We'd really like to be able to grow beyond the three to five thousand dollars a year that we give in our programs, and this is one of those vehicles that we think we could do that with," Seelye said.
Former scholarship recipient Micaela Cimino said the award helped launch her career. Now, more than two decades later, she owns a gallery and frame shop in Monument.
"I used that money to go to Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, [a] very good art school, which was super fun and amazing, and it kind of got me my start to a whole world and lifetime now of doing art for a living, which has been great," Cimino said.
Cimino said the scholarship also gave her an early opportunity to share her work with the public.
"That was the first time that I got to showcase my work to the public, and you have this confidence boost because you did win," Cimino said.
Today, she gives back to the same program that helped her get started.
"Yeah, you just pay it forward, but they're the best. I think that what they're doing is really important for kids and for the future of artists, and just giving them representation and confidence and a little financial support," Cimino commented.
More information about the scholarship program and the Palmer Lake Art Group is available here.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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