Lafayette Students Win Caldecott Tunnel Artwork Competition

Two Lafayette students recently won the Caldecott Fourth Bore Medallion Competition, with their designs slated to be made into concrete medallions to be placed on the outside of the tunnel.

Springhill Elementary School’s Chaya Tong, 8, and Acalanes High School’s Daniell McCann, 16, both submitted artwork that was chosen from over 300 entries from K-12 students. There were 6 winners, and three medallions will be put on each side of the tunnel.

The competition included submissions from students from each side of the tunnel, in both Alameda County and Contra Costa County.  The judges for Contra Costa County were Chief Preparator of the Bedford Gallery Erik Mortenson, Contra Costa Times writer Jennifer Modenessi and Public Art Consultant Regina Almaguer.

The theme of the competition was “Art Deco Revisited.”

"In this design I tried to capture Mr. Diablo’s rugged hills with the classic oak tree in front.  It uses common art deco design defining the most important elements that I believe represent Contra Costa County," said McCann on the Caldecott Tunnel website.

Tong also included the hills of Contra Costa in her design.

"My drawing illustrates what I love best about Contra Costa County: rolling green hills, bright sun, and the many plants," she said.

The  concrete medallions will be displayed on the fourth bore of the tunnel, which is scheduled to be finished in 2014.