Students used art to spotlight breast cancer awareness and reconstruction during the “Awareness Through Art” contest hosted in Corpus Christi.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A group of young artists proved that a brushstroke can be just as powerful as a microphone during Thursday night’s “Awareness Through Art” awards ceremony.
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The event was hosted by the Corpus Christi Institute of Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery, led by Dr. Vijay Bindingnavele, in partnership with the nonprofit Esperanza de Tejas. The goal? To inspire students to use art as a platform for raising awareness about breast cancer and breast reconstruction.
“It’s just beautiful out here, you know,” Dr. Bindingnavele said. “I’ll tell you, we have some pretty phenomenal artists in our community.”
Students didn’t just show up to create—they walked away with hundreds of dollars in scholarships for their work.
One participant explained why the contest was more than just paint on canvas.
“Not all children express themselves in words,” Dr. Bindingnavele explained. “Many of them express themselves with actions, music, and some express themselves through art, and so this competition was a way for them to exercise that—that way of expression, expression through art.”
For one young artist, nature provided the spark.
“My inspiration was the beautiful outside, how it’s so calm, and then the birds and the trees,” Ella Mulic said, standing beside her piece.
Another student leaned into symbolism to make a bold statement.
“I noticed that, um, a lot of the themes with them was about strength,” Jaelee Flores said. “And I thought, well, what better animal is about strength than tigers? And, um, I just thought it’d be really great to include it in the piece.”
Though the art varied in style and message, the underlying theme was clear: strength, healing, and hope.