Shooting Stars · 2016

Created in 1997 by Chairman Emeritus Robert Endres, a then-member of the Board for the Arts and Humanities Association of Johnson County, the Shooting Stars Program is one of the few initiatives in the community to honor high school students and their arts educators for artistic excellence in the literary, performing and visual arts through recognition, scholarships and awards.

With the help of generous contributors and program partners including Johnson County Community College, the Performing Arts Series, the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, the Arts Ambassadors and the dedicated staff and volunteers of the Arts Council of Johnson County, the program continues to grow.  Since its creation, the Shooting Stars Program has recognized more than 1,000 high school seniors and awarded over $250,000 in college scholarships and $65,000 in teacher honorariums.

To participate in the Program, twelfth grade students must be nominated by their high school arts teacher and be a resident of Johnson County, Kansas. Once nominated, Finalists then audition or submit a portfolio of work for review by independent judges. All participating teachers and students are honored and scholarship recipients announced at the Annual Shooting Stars Gala in the spring.

This year, students honored in the Shooting Stars Program have been nominated by high school faculty members of the Blue Valley, De Soto, Gardner-Edgerton, Olathe, Shawnee Mission and Spring Hill School Districts, as well as Kansas City Christian, Maranatha Christian Academy, Pembroke Hill Upper School, Rockhurst High School, St. James Academy, St. Thomas Aquinas High School and St. Teresa’s Academy.

With the ongoing support of the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, works by the visual arts finalists are exhibited annually in the Museum. Bruce Hartman, Executive Director, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, selected one work from each of the finalists for exhibition in the Museum. We hope you enjoy this year’s exhibition.

Scholarship categories include photography, three-dimensional art, two-dimensional art, theatre/performance, theatre/technical, voice, winds and percussion, strings, and literature.

The Arts Council of Johnson County enhances the quality of life in the community by strengthening the arts.

Arts Council of Johnson County
David and Demi Kiersznowski, Honorary Chairs

Board of Directors
Abby Beckloff, president
David Oliver, vice president of operations and finance
Josh Shelton, immediate past president
Diane Botwin
Maury Thompson

Advisory Board
Kate Allen
Sarah Bishop
Douglas Drake
Mindi Love
Sharon Miller
Blake Schreck
Debra Swearingen
Brian Williams
Amilia Winter

Art Ambassadors
Terry Calaway
Linda and Chuck Carlsen
Richard Carrothers and Dennis Hennessy
Eileen and Byron Cohen
Joni Cohen
Mark Gilman
Pam and Gary Gradinger
Shirley and Barnett Helzberg
Linda and Topper Johntz
Diana and Len Kline
Kay Martin
Lee and Carl McCaffree
Beth and Pat McCown
Larry Meeker
Margaret and Jerry Nerman
Susan and Lewis Nerman
Marti and Tony Oppenheimer
Ann and Bob Regnier