As salam Alaikum,
Thank you to all the community members who participated in our Arts Contest. We had an overwhelming response, with onsite registration exceeding 100+ attendees.
Participants were given ayahs from the Quran and could use that as an inspiration and draw it on a paper or canvas using paint or crayons or pencils.
We had two amazing young judges from our community. Here are their bios:
Nida Ansari:
You will often see Nida volunteering or hosting art Camp at MAPS. But little does everyone know that she is also an accomplished water color artist. Creating art ever since she can remember, Nida also had a successful art career and startup of handpainted shoes in Bombay. She moved to Seattle almost half a decade ago to start a new life and art career again. She uses traditional watercolor techniques and makes unique works of art that reflect the beauty of Pacific NW and brings people close to nature. Nida has proudly showcased her work at multiple art-walks, cafes and studios around Seattle. She has also been featured in various art magazines and blogs. You can learn more about Nida from her interview with Seattle-refined – Artist of the Week: Nida Ansari | Seattle Refined
Nida (@fineartby_nida) • Instagram photos and videos
Sabah Najam:
Sabah Najam is an artist from India. Having sold art in India, Malaysia, and the U.S., Sabah specializes in oil and acrylic paintings and has continuously expanded her skills during her years in the industry. Sabah’s works range from depictions of the beauty of nature, stone paintings, shoe designs, murals and more.
Sabah has two passions in life. The first is creating art that invokes joy and inspiration, and the second is working with her students to help them explore their artistic side. She has worked as an art instructor for 5+ years and recently got promoted to working as a Programs Manager at Museo Art Academy in Issaquah.
www.sabahnajam.com
Sabah Najam Ahmed (@sabah.najam) • Instagram photos and videos
Here are our winners in each category:
| Category | Name | Judges Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Elementary 1st Prize | Ameena Ali | Good use of space, on point with the theme, neat brush strokes, good color scheme of cool and warm colors |
| Elementary 2nd Prize | Duaa Faraz | Utilization of space, composition, different elements, good brush strokes, eye for details. Separating the two shades |
| Elementary 3rd Prize | Asiya Hussain | On theme. Good detail and composition and variety of fruit. Good utilization of space |
| Middle School 1st Prize | Sidra Awan | Very strong composition, demonstrating depth in their landscape, very good shading, color palette is striking, soft strokes , good detail |
| Middle School 2nd Prize | Yamen Khazali | Very unique, very symmetrical, good precision and detailed work. It’s an abstract take on a spider web which for a viewer could be a flower, a spider web |
| Middle School 3rd Prize | Ayra Ali | Good blending techniques depicting depth in their landscape and texture and neat |
| High School 1st Prize | Rawan Elarab | Exceptional. strong focal point, good eye to detail on the moon, glow effect is exquisite. Neat |
| High School 2nd Prize | Zayan Elarab | Good blending, night and day merge, good control |
| Adult 1st Prize | Svitlana Vasukova | Good impressionism technique |
For those who were unable to pick up their trophy and cash prizes during the Fall Festival, please co-ordinate with education@mapsredmond.org to pick it up.
Here are the winning artworks:
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |





