The Illinois Arts Council held its annual Illinois High School Art Exhibition (IHSAE) on April 13, 2025, at the Bridgeport Art Center, bringing together top student artists from more than 100 high schools across Illinois. The event featured multiple exhibitions and competitions that highlighted student talent, creativity, and the impact of the arts in education.

Northern Regional Exhibition
Often referred to as a “Best of the Best” show, this exhibition featured over 500 works of art across eight categories. The following Niles West students were selected to display their work:

• Elyse Tregoning & Emilia Rydzewski, Design
• Audrey Taylor, Photography
• Ajax Hinklin, Mixed Media
• Evangeline Lopez, Drawing
• Ally Nguyen, Painting
• Kim Nguyen, Sculpture

Senior Scholarship Exhibition
This showcase featured over 300 senior artworks and highlighted scholarship offers totaling more than $108 million. The following Niles West seniors were selected to participate:
Christina Amato, Brianna Cronologia, Minela Dervisevic, Jax Gomez, Princess Hampton, Lex Hinklin, Ajax Hinklin, Sylas Kelderman, Sam Kintner, Idil Kose, Evangeline Lopez, Isabella Marquez, Sarah Mocianko, Zehraan Mohamed, Kay Pedraza, Edrian Ranon, Katerina Raycheva, Oliver Stula, Henry Styburski, Rahaf Suleiman, and Emina Zukic.

Early College Program Exhibition
This program recognizes standout underclassmen awarded scholarships to attend summer college art experiences. Gabby Cline was honored with a scholarship to attend the College for Creative Studies.

Live Art Throwdown
Advanced Studio Art student Linnea Applequist competed in the Live Art Throwdown—an interscholastic, fast-paced visual arts competition where students face creative challenges live in front of an audience.

For more information about the IHSAE, visit the ArtConnectED website of the Illinois Arts Council.