The late Orion Art Center co-founder Joan Brace would have been proud of the 13 high school pieces submitted, including those entitled “Fading Out,” “Skateboard Workshop” and “Around the Bend.”

After all, years after the art center became established so too was the Joan Brace Scholarship, an annual contest that awards $500 scholarships to help support youth artists.

Alex Nuss, a senior at Oxford High School, Mark Vannocker, of Lake Orion High School, and Jonathan Williams, of LOHS submitted the winning pieces this year, and were honored in front of family and friends at the Orion Township Public Library on May 10.

“The Orion Art Center’s mission includes this desire to support young artists and their work, which is essentially why something like the Joan Brace Scholarship is so important,” OAC Director Lorene Porter said.

Taking up the entire guest display case at the library, Porter was delighted to see so many fine works of art representing the community’s youth, and their journey.

“These young people have chosen to use their artistic talent to, as one of them said, share himself with others, and that’s just a fine thing to do,” Porter said.

Nuss captured his winning photograph “Around the Bend” in Oregon based off what he felt was pleasing to the eye.

“My dream job is to work for National Geographic and explore the world. Not quite sure how to get there yet but I’m looking for every opportunity I can,” Nuss said.

He will be attending Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland to earn a Bachelors of Fine Art, and use his $500 scholarship towards his tuition.

The $1,500 in scholarship money was donated by Lake Orion businessman and Oxford resident Don Chadwick, of the Chadwick Group, who also founded the Clark Fund which supplied the donations.

Chadwick has donated to the OAC for the past seven years, and strives to make a difference in various youth organizations in and outside of Lake Orion.

“I think that art education is somewhat ignored in the scholarship arena, and thought that was a niche to include in part of the things we do,” he said.