September 25, 2008

CARY, NC – Cary resident and Enloe High School student Kayee Au is one of the top 20 finalists of the Sister Cities International 2008 Young Artists Showcase, a national touring exhibition that opens in Cary on September 26, 2008 from 6-8 p.m. at the Herb Young Community Center, 101 Wilkinson Ave., on the Town Hall Campus.  The show, which started in Kansas City in July, runs in Cary through Monday, October 27.  Au’s work, “The Colors of My Community” is one of only 20 pieces selected from more than 70 submittals from the US , Russia , China , Japan , Mexico , Ireland , and the Mariana Islands .

Since 1988, the Sister Cities International Young Artists Showcase has encouraged youth from around the globe to reflect on and express their interpretation of Sister Cities International’s mission of promoting peace through mutual respect, understanding, cooperation through one individual, one community at a time.  The 2008 Young Artists Showcase is an opportunity for youth to share a vision of their community and its young people.  The theme "A Reflection of Your Community" celebrates the uniqueness of cities, towns, and communities throughout the world.  Judging took place in the Sister Cities International office on June 5, and after careful deliberation, judges chose twenty pieces in celebration of Sister Cities International’s twentieth year of the program.

“The artistic and lively nature of Cary , which makes it so beautiful, is what inspired me to paint this work,” explains Ms. Au.  “I love Cary ’s diversity and the embracing of the different cultures, and I wanted my painting to reflect the sense of family values and different relationships in the community.”

Cary ’s Sister Cities Commission, in collaboration with Sister Cities International, strives to further global understanding and to encourage and assist sister city relationships; through Sister Cities International, Cary is currently partnered with County Meath in Ireland, Hsinchu City, Taiwan, and LeTouquet, France. The Town also has a relationship with Markham, Canada through which economic development and cultural exchanges are promoted. 

For more, visit the Young Artists Showcase at Sister Cities International, or call (919) 469-4061.

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