Meet the Team

Sponsored by The Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery and the Pearson Foundation, the Teen Portrait Competition was designed by teens, for teens. Read below to get to know the team a bit more.

The Management Team

Tara

Tara is currently a senior. Her favorite number is 912, she likes long walks on the beach, watching the sunset from prismatic balconies, and indulging herself in succulent platters of dégoûtant sushi. She has had so much fun working with everyone and wishes good luck to all the contestants!

Ella

Ella is currently a freshman. She loves softball, traveling, and riding horses. She is extremely excited because she just mastered the art of whistling. She hopes everyone finds the competition as exciting as she does.

Lindsay

Lindsay, a high school senior, loves her management team almost as much as she loves Girl Scout cookies, dark chocolate, and peppermint ice cream. She also thinks that photography and portraiture are pretty neat, too.

The Marketing Team

Sarah

Sarah is currently a senior. She once sang a song in Welsh. She also once wrote a (very bad) book. If she could go anywhere right now, she would go to Portugal. Then, she would have a nap.

Dzhoy

Dzhoy is currently a freshman. He loves to play soccer, run track, entertain people, and to do the Rubik's Cube. If he could do anything he wanted to to right now, he would be in Ukraine, his birthplace, and helping the community there.

Sean

Sean is a freshman. He plays the baritone in the school band. He thinks this is a fun learning experience. He is interested in a photography career. And, he is a BMX bicycle racer.

The Design Team

Nathalie

Nathalie is currently a freshman. She enjoys traveling, art, and skating and has lived in 5 different countries. She had a great time working with everyone to create this and hopes the contestants enjoy the competition.

Gabrielle

Gabrielle is currently in eighth grade and loves art, writing, and traveling. She plays the clarinet and wants to be a journalist, graphic designer, or engineer someday. She can't wait to see what the contestants submit!

Naomi

Naomi is currently an eighth grader who loves anything to do with fashion, food, and design. She also enjoys playing sports, instruments, listening to music, and hopes to one day see her creations on the catwalk. She's super energized about this competition and can't wait to see some portraiture!

Gillian

Gillian is an eighth grader who loves art, writing, running, and piano. Her favorite president is John Quincy Adams, and she hopes to incorporate her current favorite subjects—chemistry, Chinese, animation, and ancient history—into her future career. She hopes that the contestants will get as much fun as she has out of the competition!

What is Portraiture?

Portraiture is the art of creating a likeness of a person. For this competition, the photo may be a traditional, representational work or it may be a more experimental portrait, but it must be based on the artist’s direct contact with any living individual(s). Self-portraits will be accepted.

Click here to view some examples of portraits created by teens.

Looking for additional inspiration?

Visit the National Portrait Gallery website: npg.si.edu