Anna Fischler

BIG ARTS recently awarded scholarships to three aspiring visual and performing artists looking to continue their education in the arts.

The BIG ARTS Performing and Creative Arts Scholarship program is meant to assist highly proficient and talented students who have professional goals to pursue visual arts, music, dance, theater, literary arts or film. The purpose is to encourage artistic development in students.

This year, three local high school graduates were chosen out of eight applicants. Anna Fischler was awarded a $2,500 scholarship, while Denver Boxleitner and Elisa Williams were each awarded a $2,000 scholarship.

“Our scholarship programs are a core part of our mission,” Executive Director Lee Ellen Harder said. “It’s an absolute joy to help these incredibly talented young artists in our community continue their education in the arts.”

Fischler is a Fort Myers High School graduate with a passion for painting and drawing. She earned “Best in Show” in the Art Under 20 Tent of Fort Myers’ ArtFest two years in a row and earned the same title in the Artway on the Parkway competition in Cape Coral this year. In the fall, Fischler will attend the Rhode Island School of Design, majoring in either painting or illustration. She seeks to continue her education and then build a career in the arts.

Denver Boxleitner

Boxleitner is a 2021 Island Coast High School graduate who enjoys illustration and creative writing. Two of her poems were published in the 2020 High School Anthologies spring and winter editions. She will study in the fine arts program, with an emphasis on creative writing and art. Boxleitner hopes to become a fantasy author or cartoonist.

Williams is a graduate of Cypress Lake High School and considers herself an artist and storyteller. She placed second for drawing in Art Under 20 at Fort Myers’ ArtFest and won a silver key and honorable mention for her region in the Scholastic Art and Writing Competition. Williams will attend the Savannah College of Art and Design, where she plans to study fine arts in sequential art and performing arts. Her goal is to become a comic book illustrator working with companies like Marvel and DC to tell new stories.

The BIG ARTS Performing and Creative Arts Scholarship is offered annually in the spring.

For additional information, please call 239-395-0900 or visit www.BIGARTS.org.

Elisa Williams