New York Aquarium Announces Winners for Its Boardwalk Mural Contest

The votes have been tallied and the winners have been chosen for the Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium’s boardwalk mural contest.

Earlier this month, the New York Aquarium held a contest for the public to vote on their three favorite entries to become the new Education Hall mural along the Coney Island Boardwalk. The winners are Danielle Mastrion of Brooklyn, Sheena Wong Shue of Sheepshead Bay/Coney Island, and Tom Manco of Manhattan, according to a WCS press release.

A special honorable mention was awarded to 10-year-old Bria Neff, the youngest artist to enter the contest. She will receive a scholarship to an aquarium summer camp courtesy of the New York Aquarium Education Department, according to the release.

Forty-two entries were submitted and a panel of judges selected seven finalists. The contest was then opened up to the public to vote for their three favorite designs.

Each of the entries aimed to raise awareness of plastic pollution in our oceans and its harmful effects on marine life. More than eight million tons of plastic ends up in rivers, streams, and oceans, according to the release. If this continues, there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans by 2050.

The murals will be installed during the week of World Oceans Day, which falls on June 8.

To view each of the winning designs, learn more about the artists, and read the artists’ visions for their murals, visit the New York Aquarium’s website.

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Main image: Sheena Wong Shue's mural
Courtesy New York Aquarium