Raymond Rivera-Bovo, a senior at Ridley High School, was named the recipient of the 2015 Ella King Torrey Young Artist Prize. He received the prize, which carries an award of $1,000 to support the recipient’s continued development in the arts, during a ceremony preceding the opening of Fleisher’s Wind Challenge 2 exhibition on Thursday, December 3, 2015.

As an arts administrator, Ella King Torrey was a vibrant force in Philadelphia, having founded and headed the Pew Artists Fellowship Program that continues to award 12 $75,000 grants to artists annually. The Ella King Torrey Young Artist Prize celebrates Ella’s joy, excitement, and commitment to artists by encouraging exceptional teenaged Fleisher students to further their exploration of the arts.

Pictured: Raymond Rivera-Bovo, left, with Ella Torrey, center, and Russel Torrey.

Raymond, who during his remarks said his attempts at a young age to copy his father’s doodles led him to pursue the arts, has been enrolled in Fleisher’s venerable Saturday Young Artists program since age 6.

“Fleisher has played a big role in my artistic development because it has shaped me into the artist that I am today,” Rivera-Bovo wrote in his application essay. “The classes at Fleisher, the teachers, the people in my classes I have worked with have all changed me and affected me in some way or another.”

Raymond intends to further his studies at the University of the Arts or the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. University of the Arts interim president Steve Tarantal attended the ceremony and announced that Rivera-Bovo was offered one the highest levels of scholarship to the university.

An exhibition of Raymond’s work and all of the Ella King Torrey Young Artist Prize applicants will remain on view in the Suzanne Fleisher and Ralph Joel Roberts Gallery through December 11.

Previous prize recipients:
Aigner LeMay, 2014
Amira Barnes, 2013
Teyin Tseng, 2012
Madison Greiner, 2011
Zachary Schwemler, 2010
Brianna Tadeo, 2009