Perpich News

Jamie Davis (Visual Arts 2026) Named Runner-Up in New York Times Competition

January 16, 2025

Congratulations to Jamie Davis (Visual Arts 2026) who was recently named a runner-up in The New York Times “Coming of Age” international competition. The competition asked how young people are developing their political and civic identities, especially in the time of pivotal elections around the world. Broader than the presidential election in the United States, the challenge asked teenagers to think bigger – about their experiences, values, beliefs, hopes and concerns, their roles as citizens, and their understanding of how the world works (or ought to work). “What can you show or tell us to help explain what it’s like to grow up in this political moment?” Students could work alone or with others, and they could use any medium that expressed their thoughts best. From essays, poems, and journal entries to comics, collages, drawings or songs, etc., art from all over the world was submitted by students aged 13-19, in middle school and high school. The full list of winners, runners-up, and honorable mentions is available here.

“I feel really proud and surprised that I was one out of 2,000 entries to be recognized by the competition, and I was blown away by the other entries,” said Jamie. “The commentary they had to offer and the technical level of the art created made me feel even more proud that I was recognized alongside them. It was super fun to participate and write this, and even cooler to see my name on a website I’m on multiple times a day.”

“Sunshine Baby” by Jamie Davis was recognized by The New York Times “Coming of Age” contest

Jamie’s piece, “Sunshine Baby”, was a mixed media painting. Along side the piece, Jamie offered this artist statement: “I’m left-leaning. I wasn’t that interested in politics until I came out as transgender. I was 12 years old, in 2020. I’d watch the news during lockdown, bored and anxious. Coverage of protests, COVID-19, the murder of George Floyd who only lived about 20 minutes from my house repeated on the screen. Headlines like these had flashed before, but only now did I have even half the capacity to understand what it all meant. These movements, this activism, was the very thing that told me there was a place for me in this state, this country, this world. I was raised empathetic, I was raised aware.
I think everyone has a place in America. Ever since the pandemic started, I feel as if the world has gotten uglier, and more divided. I feel it more now, maybe because I have the capacity to realize this hate. I’m still an activist. I’m pro-choice, pro-immigration, pro-gun control, anti-war. I hope that one day, more love is felt- no matter who you are. Looking back at old pictures of myself, who I was and still am now, I feel a particular sense of melancholy. I’m still a person. I’m not the topic of a news article arguing if people like me should have the right to exist, god forbid a statistic. I’m a person- and I always have been. I created this piece to represent the comfort I find in recollection, how I retreat to the solace of home and childhood represented by caged fabric when the world feels so scary and unforgiving. The contradicting road signs depicted represent what the world is telling me vs what I have and continue to do- keep walking. I can’t change who I am, and I don’t want to. I hope eventually, more people start to accept that me and others like me are people too, and we deserve to be able to be ourselves as much as the next person. To me, to be progressive is to be anti-division.”

Jamie Davis (Visual Arts 2026) with another piece, “Avail”, that was shown and sold in the Gamut Gallery in Minneapolis in 2024

Lindsey Schmitt, Visual Arts Instructor, was thrilled for Jamie’s acknowledgement. “I’m so proud of Jamie and his artwork! Well deserved!” said Schmitt. “It is clear that art runs through Jamie’s mind at all times. I see him create art both before and after school, frequently dedicating extra effort to refine his art technically and conceptually. He applies himself to his art studio classes as well as outside of classroom opportunities, it is inspiring. I am so glad he is here at Perpich catalyzing curiosity and creativity in whichever studio space he is working in!”

Jamie Davis is from Minnetonka, MN and is the child of Erika & Matt Davis. He previously attended PiM Arts High School in Eden Prairie, MN.