Student's submission depicts Dakota County, Minn.'s role in battling COVID-19

Key Takeaways

Izaac Ibarra’s drawing he entered in NACo’s student art competition tells the story of the coronavirus pandemic. His depiction, using color pencils, shows the COVID-19 vaccine superimposed over a mask and an outline of his county.

“He has always enjoyed surrealist and modern style art, especially artist René Margritte,” said his mother, Elia Gomez of her son, who is now an 11th-grader at Rosemount High School in Dakota County, Minn.

“He draws, but not on a regular basis — when he does, he likes to draw abstract.”

When he isn’t drawing, Izaac enjoys science and playing on his junior varsity soccer team.

Taking part in the art competition, Izaac learned more about Dakota County. “He realized all the steps that are taken to make important decisions that will affect his community,” his mother said.

After high school, she said her son hopes to study civil engineering “but that can always change.”

Dakota County is the third most populous state in Minnesota, counting more than 439,000 residents. The county is named for the Dakota Sioux tribes who settled in the area.

The art competition is sponsored by Americans for the Arts, the nation’s leading non-profit arts organization, which serves, advances and leads a network of organizations and individuals who cultivate, promote, sustain and support the arts in America. They have partnered with NACo for almost 25 years to educate and inform county elected leaders about the importance and value of the arts to their community, both culturally and economically.