Corinne Kamiya deserves what she got, literally. In March of this year, The Contemporary Museum gave her the first Ellen Choy Craig Award for outstanding work and promise.

Timothy Y.C. Choy established the yearly endowment in his mother's memory, and this is the first year that an artist was selected. "This award shows my appreciation and acknowledgment of the artistic talent, quality and excellence right here in our own community," Choy says. He acknowledged the museum for playing an important role in supporting and cultivating artists.

Born in 1981, Kamiya grew up on a papaya farm in Kahuku. She graduated from Castle High School in Kane'ohe and in 2004 received her bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Hawai'i, where she was recognized as an outstanding student in sculpture. A week ago, she received a master of fine arts degree from the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston.

She has received awards from the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and was also the recipient of two scholarships — The John Young Scholarship and the Massachusetts College of Art Graduate Scholarship. Her metal, wax and paper sculptural works have been exhibited at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, The ARTS at Marks Garage and the Doran Gallery in Boston.

Kamiya's work can be viewed, along with that of 20 other artists, in the "20 Going on 21: Honoring the Past, Celebrating the Present, Looking to the Future" exhibit at The Contemporary Museum through June 21.

Q. The Contemporary Museum selected you for this award because it sees you as a young artist with promise. Do you believe that's true?

A. I'd like to think so. I work hard, and I believe in the work that I am doing. I think you have to believe in what you do because no one else should if you don't.

Q. Are you going to use your award money for an art project?

A. My thesis show was all paper, but some of the pieces had to be framed, and I ended up spending the prize money on frames.

Q. What did you do your thesis on?

A. My thesis was called "Muscle Memory." I am interested in the way that memory works — how can we know how to spell a word when we write it out, but not know how when asked? I think that the idea of making muscle memories of places I have called home is a beautiful way to think about how we can internalize these places through our bodies and how, in some ways, we can know a place and not know it at the same time. I started doing the work in paper, and I thought that it was really amazing to not need so much. I love the ease and directness of paper. And I am interested in the idea that paper is a material that can be totally precious and not precious at the same time.

Q. I noticed on your resume that you've been a teaching and artist's assistant. Do you think that advanced your own artwork? How?

A. I really like doing both. I think that teaching is a lot of fun, and just getting to talk to people about their work and ideas is always a good thing. Working as an artist's assistant was also great; it allowed me to work in dimensions that I wouldn't normally work in and get better at making stuff — and get paid.

Q. Have you always been artistically inclined? What do you remember about growing up — in terms of your artistic life? Any important teachers or mentors?

A. I liked everything when I was a kid. I had a lot of support growing up, but I had to win my parents over with choosing art — I told my dad I wanted to go to art school when I was 16, and he told me: "You have to go to REAL school" — but I think they appreciate what I do now. I had great teachers in high school: Alicia Rogan and Diane Lee, whom I still go back to talk to sometimes. I also had great teachers at UH: Frank Sheriff, Fred Roster, Shige Miyamoto, Gaye Chan, Charlie Cohan, Mo Sato and Gene Ray. The professors at UH were generous, and it is such an amazing environment. Most of the professors use the offices at school as their studios. As undergrads, you have a really different relationship to the professors, because you get to work side by side with many of them. In grad school, there were great ones. I love Nick Nixon, Jasminka Udovicki, Abe Morell and Peter Evonuk (from Maui). They were wonderful to work with, and gave me tons to think about and look at.

Q. What are your art plans for the future? Personal goals?

A. I want to do a project that has some little stories from my childhood. Something like the view boxes I made recently, but with text. I like the idea of text in my work — there's something so direct about it. My latest list of things I want to do includes: watching more Werner Herzog films (I totally loved "Encounters at the End of the World"), learn Spanish, read James Joyce, read more Oliver Sachs, be fearless in art, grow my hair out to donate, and keep my life on the neat side.

Q. What advice would you give to the BFA graduating class at UH?

A. Advice is hard. So I am just going to quote Jim Henson here — "I believe that we form our own lives, we create our own reality, and that everything works out for the best. I know I drive some people crazy with what seems to be ridiculous optimism, but it has always worked out for me."