The following 15 students have been selected as semifinalists for the 2026 Artist of the Year in fine arts from a field of 164 nominees.
Working across a range of media, these students were chosen by a panel of educators based on portfolios, artistic technique, originality and written statements.
Students are placed into two divisions based on their level of training, ensuring that emerging visual artists have opportunities alongside more experienced peers.
Semifinalists will participate in interviews with arts professionals and college faculty, discussing both their work and artistic influences.
From this group, three finalists and one Artist of the Year in fine arts will be selected.
Finalists and Artists of the Year will be announced live at an awards celebration on May 13 at the Samueli Theatre on the campus of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. The event will feature performances and presentations by the seven top students and is free to attend with a reservation.
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If you are interested in helping Artist of the Year grow by becoming a sponsor of this program, send an email to ocartistoftheyear@aoy.scng.com.
Lucius Acker, senior, Esperanza High School
Division 1
Lucius Acker of Placentia, a senior at Esperanza High School, is a fine arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Lucius Acker)
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“Art isn’t so much a message as it is a process. Every artist must love their process, no matter how tedious it is because being an artist means you have greater capacities to love. It means that you knowingly pursue what you love to do, and process your feelings through that love as if it were the only way. The best I can do is live through my process and the products that come out of it will speak for themselves.”
Emma Byun, junior, Crean Lutheran High School
Division 1
Emma Byun of Irvine, a junior at Crean Lutheran High School, is a fine arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Yoon Choi)
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“As a Korean-American artist, I continue to be motivated to create artwork that explores surface perceptions about the body — especially skin color — in order to deepen our understanding of the human experience. Whether I’m depicting a moment of profound connection between two people with beautifully contrasting skin tones, or expressing the Korean concept of ‘skinship,’ or depicting connections that go as far back as the ancient trade routes that went across oceans — and also depicts my family’s immigration journey, I am inspired by the idea of identity and connection.”
Amanda Chi, senior, El Toro High School
Division 1
Amanda Chi of Lake Forest, a senior at El Toro High School, is a fine arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Amanda Chi)
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“Creating art has left my room many times a mess: over splash from my acrylic teal paints or short indents from my box cutter. However, besides my mom’s comments, these qualities have made my room an extension of me. I imagine one’s walls and bedrooms also extend to their identity and their feelings of home. Roads they drive or run across testify to the challenges and journey they have overcome. Bringing my art into a larger scale, I want to recraft these paths and structures to paint a teal and colorful future; one that uplifts and listens to all.”
Reshan Harris, junior, Capistrano Valley High School
Division 1
Reshan Harris of Mission Viejo, a junior at Capistrano Valley High School, is a fine arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Ashini Harris)
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“Beyond just the creation of work, I have become an active member of my ceramics studio. I have begun helping to instruct a youth ceramics class teaching young artists hand building, wheel throwing, and finishing techniques. Teaching others has brought a new joy to my creative process because the students always have unorthodox ideas, tossing aside the ‘rules’ that many treat like laws. I have found great fulfillment in getting the opportunity to help foster young creative minds and hope to continue doing so in the future.”
Zoe Ji, senior, Fairmont Preparatory Academy
Division 1
Zoe Ji of Irvine, a senior at Fairmont Preparatory Academy, is a fine arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Rachel Xiong)
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“For a long time, I thought being an artist meant working quietly and alone. When words failed me, when I could not explain my fear, confusion, or loneliness, I painted instead. Art became the place where I put emotions that felt too heavy or too complicated to share. It did not fix anything, but it allowed me to exist without having to explain myself. Over time, that understanding changed. Art was no longer only a private refuge. It became a way to reach outward. Drawing for friends, leaving small sketches for teachers, and creating images for my community showed me that art could carry care, attention, and presence. It could say, I see you, without demanding a response.”
Lena Ko, senior, Fairmont Preparatory Academy
Division 1
Lena Ko of La Mirada, a senior at Fairmont Preparatory Academy, is a fine arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Lauren Ko)
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“My artworks and creative process are driven by nostalgia and reflection. Like a photograph captures a snippet of time, I create paintings to preserve meaningful moments and revisit the people and places that shape my life. Rather than documenting events objectively, my work conveys the emotional forces that determine which moments linger. I am intrigued by how certain cues, such as a cold glance or warm laugh, can anchor a memory and remain vivid even as other details fade.”
Mal Lake, junior, Valencia High School
Division 1
Mal Lake of Placentia, a junior at Valencia High School, is a fine arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Yun Hong)
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“My goal is to tell stories with my art, most likely in the form of graphic novels. Even if this might seem like an unrealistic goal, I know that I’ll always be creating things, even if I can’t do it as a profession because I enjoy the process of creating art and I hope that others might also find value in the things I create. My ultimate objective is just to create something that people might love as much as I love the art made by my favorite artists.”
Angel Jia Yi Luan, senior, Fairmont Preparatory Academy
Division 2
Angel Jia Yi Luan of Irvine, a senior at Fairmont Preparatory Academy, is a fine arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Yang Liu)
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“Through all the exploration and experiments I made with my work, I figured that to me, art is way more than the physical piece itself, but what’s conveyed through it. It’s a combination of many subjects and majors, expressed through this media.In my opinion, being an artist is to combine what I know and apply them through making art, portray the ideas I wanted to express through art, and make a difference.”
April Ma, junior, St. Margaret’s Episcopal School
Division 1
April Ma of Laguna Niguel, a junior at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School, is a fine arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Frances Ma)
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“Art has an ability to transcend languages which allows it to act as a universal marker that unites us all in capturing the true essence of human thought. It serves as markers for each period and shift in the world. Accordingly, in the future I hope to make art that transcends human language and serves as context for who I am. I hope that it won’t just leave a short term impact, but I hope it’s perceived in the world for historians to look back at and learn about me, serving as a marker for the unique pathway that I will have lived out.”
Sky Park, senior, Corona del Mar High School
Division 1
Sky Park of Irvine, a senior at Corona del Mar High School, is a fine arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Joshua Park)
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“Being an artist is less about providing answers and more about creating space for people to pause and recognize themselves. This space can hold discomfort, vulnerability, and quiet truths that are hard to voice. It can also hold comfort, peace, and the anticipation of hopeful things. Art becomes a way to translate confusing, heavy, or joyful experiences into something visible and shareable. Through that process, I come to understand both myself and others more clearly.”
Paris Sharp, junior, Portola High School
Division 1
Paris Sharp of Irvine, a junior at Portola High School, is a fine arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Paris Sharp)
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“What made (learning ceramics) impactful was not immediate success, but the freedom to fail without judgment. Clay rarely turned out the way I expected. Pieces cracked, warped, or collapsed, and learning to accept those outcomes changed how I approached both art and myself. Ceramics taught me patience and resilience, and more importantly, it taught me that growth often happens when control is released. That realization marked a turning point where art became more than a class, it became a space for self-discovery and honesty.”
Damian Slavkov, senior, Valencia High School
Division 2
Damian Slavkov of Anaheim, a senior at Valencia High School, is a fine arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Damian Slavkov)
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“My work takes inspiration from many different aspects of my life, and more notably from other potters I have seen online. I love watching videos of other people creating, my imagination running wild with ideas, evoking the giddiness I wrote about earlier. One day, I hope to make others feel what I feel when watching these videos. I want to get others just as excited about ceramics and pottery as I have. I hope to become a master of my craft, developing a distinct style that anyone well-versed in the pottery world would notice.”
Ella Shu Wang, senior, Orange County School of the Arts
Division 1
Ella Shu Wang of Lake Forest, a senior at Orange County School of the Arts, is a fine arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Ella Wang)
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“Whether it’s bringing caffeine to late-night studio sessions or staying up discussing artistic theses and the societal values our work challenges, I thrive where creativity and dialogue intersect. Art, for me, is both personal inquiry and shared language, a way to invite reflection, questioning, and collective growth. My work is centered around the intersection of intellectual art-making meeting experimentation. Examining how art is disseminated and activated in social contexts, I’m especially drawn to perceptions of childhood experiences that shape identity.”
Katelyn Wong, junior, Portola High School
Division 1
Katelyn Wong of Irvine, a junior at Portola High School, is a fine arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Songyi Park)
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“In my own life, art has become a way to communicate. By exploring topics of culture and childhood memories in my art, I have transformed personal struggles into visual stories. These pieces have opened conversation with people I love, allowing shared understanding to form without the need for words. Creating art has also given me clarity, helping me process experiences by arranging them into form, color, and movement.”
Junting Zhang, junior, Portola High School
Division 1
Junting Zhang of Irvine, a junior at Portola High School, is a fine arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2026. (Photo courtesy of Paris Sharp)
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“My ceramic work explores themes of emotional connection, vulnerability, and dependence. I often use imperfect forms and textured surfaces to reflect the complexity of human psychology. Rather than focusing on functional pottery, I treat clay as a language for expressing internal conflict and quiet tension. I do not aim to assign a fixed meaning to my work. Instead, I invite viewers to project their own experiences onto the pieces.”
