As John Paige sat at this year’s Virginia Third Congressional Art Competition, he heard the names of people called up for honorable mention, third place, and then second. Once he’d heard the second place name wasn’t his, he tapped his mom and said, “ Mom, we can probably go, I’m not winning anything.” Then he heard his name come over the microphone, and was completely stunned. Paige received the Grand First Place Prize for his piece titled “Teenage Angst.”

“As a teenager I feel like I’ve gone through a lot of stress and it’s made me so angry. It’s built up and I have never been able to release it, so, I chose to paint it. To release some of that anger,” Paige said.

In doing so, he not only was able to find some inner peace, but also affected others with a very moving and evocative piece of art.

“He’s been a joy to work with,” his art teacher Tanya Rogish said. “It was very exciting when I found out he won, I was very proud of him.”

Paige received a $3,000 scholarship for the Savannah College of Art & Design, two round-trip tickets to attend the reception for Congressional winners in Washington D.C., a Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center Prize Pack, a Newport News Police Department Prize Pack, a Black Americans in Congress book and $50 in Gift Cards. His artwork will travel to Washington D.C. where it will be on display for all visitors, congressmen, and senators to view as they walk toward the capital building.