Stevie Brooks, “Waves of Despair” (2025 entry)
Tides of Tomorrow:
The Jane Brinkley Thumm Memorial Arts Contest
2025 Results
We are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2025 Jane Brinkley Thumm Memorial Arts Contest.
Jurors
Our sincere thanks to the jurors who reviewed submissions with such care and professional expertise:
Brendan Baylor, Associate Professor of Art (Print Media), Old Dominion University. Interdisciplinary artist whose work explores landscapes as social, historical, and ecological spaces.
Ann Mazzocca Bellecci, Professor of Dance, Christopher Newport University. Choreographer, performer, filmmaker, and scholar.
Staci Katsias, Instructor, Chrysler Museum of Art Perry Glass Studio. Glass artist focused on ecology, conservation, and wholeness.
Jim Newsom, Musician and longtime host with WHRO. Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.
Clayton Singleton, Artist and educator, Clayton Singleton Fine Art. Verbal and visual artist; BA in Art and PreK–12 Art Education certification (Virginia Wesleyan University) and M.Ed. (Regent University).
Skip Stiles, Founder & Senior Advisor, Wetlands Watch. Former Wetlands Watch Executive Director with a career spanning national environmental and science policy and community-level adaptation work.
Elizabeth Wiley, Professor Emerita of Theatre, William & Mary. Award-winning audiobook narrator (over two hundred titles).
2025 Winners
Visual Artwork
1st Place: Kyler Blake, The Final Nesting Tide
2nd Place: Eleanor Sword, Intrusive Fortune
3rd Place: Alaina Hedgepeth, Reflection
Performative Art
1st Place: Kylie Smith, How I Love the Beach
Thank you to every student who submitted work that helped Virginia see sea level rise and coastal change through your eyes.
V I S U A L A R T W O R K
First Place: Kyler Blake, The Final Nesting Tide
Second Place: Eleanor Sword, Intrusive Fortune
Third Place: Alaina Hedgepeth, Reflection
P E R F O R M A T I V E A R T
1st Place: Kylie Smith, How I Love the Beach
An orange sunrise with birds overhead
They flap and chirp as the colors mend
Cold sand fills around me as I lay with the breeze
The distant muffle of the waves put me at ease
Oh how I love the beach
The sun moves over me blinding my eyes with it’s brightness
The sand gets warmer as the midday heat arises
Everyone comes to celebrate such a day
Children laugh with buckets as they play
Teens carve the waves as they surf
Parents read and talk while they observe
The birds eat fries as the day gets slower
The waves grow louder and closer
Oh how I love the beach
The evening comes and the midday rush flees
Sunburns and suntans on backs to the 2nd degree
The sun drifts over the ocean that shimmers and glows
The birds settle down and couples stroll
Only murmurs of talk settle around me a little bittersweet
The sun sinks below the horizon as the water rushes to my feet
Oh how I love the beach
The sun settled down and night came about
The cold chill of the air started to sprout
People were no longer around just me and the sea
The waves come closer until they crash over me
No longer can I lay on the sand
The water has raised I have to stand
As I walk away to the highest of dunes
I look over my shoulder at the beach I once knew
Oh how I loved the beach
2025 Submissions
Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2025 Jane Brinkley Thumm Memorial Arts Contest!. We’re thrilled by the creativity, care, and time reflected in each submission.
Below you’ll find this year’s entries. Each image is a preview, so please click on any piece to view the full artwork.
