---
title: "Student Art Evokes Frustration, Sorrow and Hope in a Nation of Guns"
date: 2023-03-29T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/student-art-evokes-frustration-sorrow-and-hope-in-a-nation-of-guns"
section: Articles
---
# Student Art Evokes Frustration, Sorrow and Hope in a Nation of Guns

*March 29, 2023* — by [Maggie Haslam](/author/maggie-haslam)


> Seven Works Honored in Sadat Art for Justice and Peace Competition

*Sadat Art First Place2 D 03142023 JC 3215 1920x1080 — “Neverending,” a depiction of the 321 people shot each day in the United States, took first prize in the wall-hanging category in the 2023 Sadat Art for Justice and Peace competition.*

A mass of 321 bullet casings tightly arranged in the shape of the United States—representing the average number of people shot each day in this country—was among the winning entries in this year’s University of Maryland Sadat Art for Justice and Peace Competition.

“Neverending,” by art major Mary Mena ’24, was recognized Friday alongside student works of smudged acrylic, etched steel and digital art depicting the toll of gun violence.

"This year's theme, ‘Victims of Gun Violence,’ is one that haunts our entire nation and has been prioritized by our university,” said Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development and founding director of the program. “We already address this issue in our research and in our ongoing public opinion polling, but artists speak powerfully about issues of social justice through their visual representation.”

\[*[120 Initiative Presents Pathway to Fewer Gun Deaths](https://today.umd.edu/120-initiative-presents-pathway-to-fewer-gun-deaths)*\]

Hosted jointly since 1998 by the [Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development](https://sadat.umd.edu/) and the [Department of Art](https://art.umd.edu/), the competition challenges students from UMD’s Department of Art to conceive two- and three-dimensional pieces that evoke peace and reconciliation around a contemporary theme. The competition is now held in coordination with the university’s Arts for All Initiative, which develops new and reimagined curricular and experiential offerings that nurture different ways of thinking to spark dialogue, understanding, problem-solving and action.

In past years, student artists have offered powerful statements around Islamophobia, the Black Lives Matter movement, 9/11 and the refugee crisis, with winning artworks presented to Sadat lecturers including Nelson Mandela, Kofi Anan and the Dalai Lama.

The 2023 jury included Telhami; Sylvia Pines, wife of university president Darryll J. Pines; Katherine Wilkens Van Hollen, wife of U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland; Annette Aburdene and Suava Salameh, sponsors of the Sadat Art for Peace Program; Department of Art Chair Brandon Morse; art Professor Cy Keener; and Dana Priest, John S. and James L. Knight Chair in Public Affairs.

Below are this year’s winners:



*bell cast from melted bullet casings*



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*ukulele filled with shell casings and flowers*



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*honeycomb-colored wood box*



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*bullet casings in the shape of the United States*



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*framed images of student hiding under desk and newspapers with gun violence headlines*



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*A nervous system made of gun components on a field of bullet-riddled steel*



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*red textured painting*



**Sidebar note:**

See the winners: Student work from this year’s competition is on view at the [Herman Maril Gallery](https://art.umd.edu/galleries/herman-maril-gallery) (first floor of the Parren J. Mitchell Art-Sociology Building) through April 5. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday.





**Topics:** [Arts & Culture](https://today.umd.edu/tags/arts-culture)


**Tags:** [Visual Arts](https://today.umd.edu/topic/visual-arts), [Gun Violence Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/gun-violence-research), [Student Experience](https://today.umd.edu/topic/student-experience), [Arts](https://today.umd.edu/topic/arts)


**Units:** [College of Arts and Humanities](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-arts-and-humanities), [College of Behavioral and Social Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-behavioral-and-social-sciences)