Role models can inspire people and help guide their choices. A friend or family member can be a role model, as can a famous person. But what about people who changed history without becoming widely known? The Lowell Milken Center (LMC) calls them “Unsung Heroes.” To teach students about these inspiring people, the LMC gives a yearly award for art projects that bring their stories to light. On June 1, the LMC announced the winners for 2026!
Students in grades 6–12 can win ArtEffect awards for creating original works of visual art inspired by real-life unsung heroes. This year, the LMC announced 46 winners and more than $49,000 in prize money. The middle school Best-in-Show prize went to Eleanor Zhang for her work, “The Inside.” Her piece honors unsung hero Pavel Weiner, a
survivor who bravely kept a diary of his experiences in a Nazi
.
Weiner was born to a Jewish family in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czechia), in 1931. In 1942, he and his family were forced to leave their home after Nazi Germany occupied the country during World War II. He was later moved to Terezín, a transit camp where many Jewish people were held before being sent to
. Weiner lived in Terezín from age 10 to 13. There, he and other boys recorded daily life. After surviving the Holocaust, Weiner went on to share his experiences, helping future generations learn about the dangers of hatred and
.
Eleanor explained why she picked Weiner for her artwork. “His story is really inspirational to me,” she told News-O-Matic. “When I first read his story, it stood out to me how much bravery it took for someone this young to have the drive to maintain this journal. It would potentially have cost him his life if discovered.” The 14-year-old said his journal shows he “still kept hope for how his future would improve, which is really important for people to have — especially in this day and age.”
The soon-to-be high school freshman made her art with colored pencils and markers. “The Inside” shows Weiner looking over his diary and symbols of the dangers he faced and documented.
Eleanor studies art at Yun Hua Fang Art Studio in Saratoga, California. Besides art, she enjoys DIY projects, crochet, and playing the violin. She won $2,000 from the LMC for her drawing and said she was excited to learn she had won. “I couldn’t really believe it,” she said, “because this year there were so many
, and each one of them has been amazing!”
One of those submissions came from Steve Han of Irvine, California. He won the ArtEffect Grand Prize for his painting of unsung hero Frances Perkins. Perkins was the first woman to serve in a U.S. president’s Cabinet. She helped create important protections for workers and American families during and after the Great Depression. Han’s creation, called “The Hands of Reconstruction,” shows Perkins lifting a torn American flag while workers hold tools, symbols of the efforts to rebuild society.
Paulina Ausucua from Houston, Texas, earned the 2026 LMC high school Best-in-Show prize for her artwork, “The Shape of Growth.” Her painting honors Norman Borlaug, a leader from the world of agriculture. Borlaug helped provide food for millions of people by developing a more wheat plant. Ausucua highlights Borlaug’s determination as he appears while conducting his research, taking notes as he studies a wheat plant.
Other winning artworks from the 2026 contest shed light on inventors, photographers, activists, and more unsung heroes. Eleanor offered advice for anyone interested in making art about these role models — or any subject. “The first step is to have a feeling that you’re going for,” she said. “The feeling or desire you have to express really controls the direction of what you create. That helps you decide what exactly you’re going to put down on paper.”
By Diana Richard
Updated June 24, 2026, 5:00 P.M. (ET)
