Artwork above – 1st Place, Intermediate Category – Ivan Li
Out of nearly 70 submissions, nine students were selected as the winners of Virginia’s Aviation Art Contest. This year’s theme, “Women with Wings,” guided their creativity to meld aviation and art for the original pieces. Their work will now go on to be judged against art submitted from around the country.
As the state sponsor of the event, the Virginia Department of Aviation (DOAV) chose the winners in an anonymous competition based on the artwork’s creativity, color, composition, and connection to the theme. The five judges were selected for their backgrounds based on aviation, art, education, and media. With so many exceptional entries, the judges were compelled to award five “honorable mention” honors.
For the past several years, the Commonwealth’s students have won awards at the national competition, which is sponsored by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA). Last year, 8-year-old Eric Shen and 14-year-old Iris Xie won top honors in the international competition held in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Greg Campbell, director of the DOAV, is impressed with this year’s contestants. “Our student’s talents are stunning. So many of these pieces of art could go in a museum,” Campbell said.
The DOAV proudly announces the 2025 winners of the Virginia Aviation Art Contest:
Group I — Junior Category (ages 6 to 10)
- First Place: Andrew Yang – Great Falls, VA
- Second Place: Elaine Eng – Vienna, VA
- Third Place: Eric Shen – Vienna, VA
- Honorable Mention: Seungmin Baek – McLean, VA
Group II — Intermediate Category (ages 11 to 14)
- First Place: Diane Liu – McLean, VA
- Second Place: Iris Xie – Vienna, VA
- Third Place: Jacqueline Xie – Falls Church, VA
- Honorable Mention: Ivan Li – Herndon, VA
- Honorable Mention: Ivan Li – Herndon, VA
Group III — Senior Category (ages 15 to 18)
- First Place: Anya Huang – Great Falls, VA
- Second Place: Linyue Tong – Great Falls, VA
- Third Place: Suri Wang – McLean, VA
- Honorable Mention: Joyce Zheng – Ashburn, VA
- Honorable Mention: Nitya Boggavarapu – Glen Allen, VA
