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Posted December 29th, 2008 by admin

Art & Writing Awards

AT–A–GLANCE
What is it?

Founded in 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the nation's longest-running, most prestigious educational initiative supporting student achievement in the visual and literary arts.  The program has an impressive legacy of being the first to acknowledge creative talent and is today's largest source of scholarships for creative teens.

Who's it for?

Creative teenagers in grades 7–12 from public, private and home schools throughout the U.S. and its territories, as well as American-run schools abroad and students who make art and writing through community organizations.

Visit the Website

artandwriting.org

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Contact

Anne Sparkman
asparkman@scholastic.com
(212) 343-6657

Brittany Sullivan
bsullivan@scholastic.com
(212) 343-4848

 

Art & Writing In The News

THE NEW YORKER An inside look at the 2014 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards national adjudication process with 12th grade photography judges Andres Serrano, Casey Kelbaugh and Julie Saul.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Gold Medalist Steven Paul, 17, of Brooklyn, NY discusses his photograph "Lost Time," which was painted by Colossal Media on onto the side of a building in Williamsburg.

NBC NEWS Gold Medalist Steven Paul from Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, NY featured on “Nightly News” to talk about his Award-winning photograph.

THE TAKEAWAY Portfolio Gold Medalists Ellie Braun, 17, of Richmond, VA and Jack Rayson, 18, of Nashville, TN, speak about their Award-winning drawings and short stories, respectively.

GOOD MORNING ARIZONA Portfolio Gold Medalist Haley Lee, 16, of Scottsdale, AZ sits down with "Good Morning Arizona" to talk about her experience at Carnegie Hall.

Winning a Scholastic Art & Writing Award brought me from high school in Wichita, Kansas, to art school in New York City. It changed the course of my life.

—— Tom Otterness, acclaimed American sculptor, public artist and Awards alumnus

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Press Releases

Background

What are the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards?

  • The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards recognize student achievement in the visual and literary arts in 28 categories, including poetry, graphic design, fashion, science fiction, video game design and more.
  • Since 1923, the Awards have recognized and encouraged millions of students, including Truman Capote, Philip Pearlstein, Sylvia Plath, Andy Warhol and John Updike, who won when they were teens.  In more recent years, famous names such as Stephen King, Myla Goldberg, Zac Posen, Lena Dunham and Richard Linklater have become alumni of the program.
  • An Award signifies to parents, teachers, the community and colleges that a student is an accomplished artist or writer.
  • The Awards offer opportunities for creative teens to earn recognition, exhibition, publication and scholarships.
  • In the 2013–14 program year, 16 high school seniors received the Portfolio Gold Award, which includes a $10,000 scholarship.
  • Through the Scholarship Provider Network, $10 million in scholarships is set aside specifically for Scholastic Award–winning high school seniors to apply for at more than 60 colleges and universities who have partnered with the Alliance.
  • Additional cash awards are offered to students in all grades, as well as teachers.
  • More than 100 Regional Affiliates throughout the country run the Awards in their local communities and areas of operation.
  • Nearly 70,000 teen artists and writers are recognized in their regions each year. More than 1 million original works have been submitted and over $40 million has been made available in scholarships and awards to top winning students over the past five years alone.
  • Each work of art and writing is blindly adjudicated, first locally through the more than 100 affiliates of the Alliance, and then nationally by panels of judges comprised of renowned artists, authors, educators and industry experts.
  • Works are judged on originality, technical skill, and emergence of personal vision or voice.

 

What is The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers?

  • The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers is the national nonprofit organization that presents the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and provides additional opportunities for creative teens to be recognized for their talents and to earn scholarships for their education.
  • The Alliance’s mission is to identify teenagers with exceptional artistic and literary talent and bring their remarkable work to a national audience.
  • The Alliance also serves as a source of information for organizations and individuals who wish to support the creative development of our nation’s teenagers.
  • With the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Alliance is a founding partner of the National Student Poets Program, the country’s highest honor for young poets which is open exclusively to winners of national Scholastic Awards in poetry. Five students are selected annually.
  • The Alliance is grateful for its generous sponsors, who provide funds to support and produce the Awards: Scholastic Inc., The Maurice R. Robinson Fund, Command Web Offset Co., the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, The New York Times, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, The National Endowment for the Arts, Blick Art Materials & Utrecht Art Supplies, 3D Systems, The Gedenk Movement, Golden Artist Colors, Bloomberg L.P., the Bernstein Family Foundation, Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Duck Tape® and additional contributions from numerous other individual, foundation and corporate funders.

What is the National Student Poets Program?

  • The National Student Poets Program is a signature initiative of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. It is the nation’s highest honor for young poets presenting original work.
  • This partnership reflects the national imprimatur of the President's Committee and its Honorary Chairman, First Lady Michelle Obama, as well as the Administration's commitment to the arts and humanities education. The Institute of Museum and Library Services' community-based network of libraries and museums links the National Student Poets with audiences and resources in their communities and surrounding regions. The program builds upon the Alliance's longstanding work with educators and creative teens through the prestigious Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
  • Now in its third year, the Program selects five outstanding high school poets for one year of service as national poetry ambassadors. Each National Student Poet represents one of five regions of the country.
  • The 2014 National Student Poets' year of service began in Washington, D.C. with a reading hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House.
  • During the course of their ambassadorial year, the National Student Poets showcase the essential role of writing and the arts in academic and personal success by leading readings and workshops at libraries, museums and schools, as well as participating in prestigious events throughout the country. They additionally create and implement service projects that expand the reach of the program and its engagement with audiences in their respective regions.
  • The National Student Poets each receive an academic award of $5,000 funded by the Bernstein Family Foundation and serve as resources for the Library of Congress and U.S. Department of Education during their tenure.
  • The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is the exclusive pathway to be considered for the National Student Poets Program. Students must achieve a National Gold or Silver Medal in poetry through blind adjudication by a national panel of jurors. From the top-winning work in the Scholastic Awards, an esteemed panel of expert judges selects five student poets, based on the student’s creativity, promise and dedication to craft.
  • The 2015 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards call for submissions is now open. Students in grades 9–11 who are interested in becoming a 2015 National Student Poet are able to submit their entries throughout the fall. Deadlines for art and writing submissions vary by region.
  • Information on the Program, students and upcoming events can be found at www.artandwriting.org/NSPP
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The 2014 National Student Poets

Weston Clark
Age – 16
Park Tudor School
Indianapolis, IN
Midwest Region
Julia Falkner
Age – 17
Monarch High School
Louisville, CO
West Region
Ashley Gong
Age – 15
Newtown High School
Sandy Hook, CT
Northeast Region
Madeleine LeCesne
Age – 18
Lusher Charter School
New Orleans, LA
Southwest Region
Cameron Messinides
Age – 17
South Carolina Governor's School for Arts & Humanities
Greenville, SC
Southeast Region

Photos from the National Student Poet Appointment Weekend in Washington, D.C.

Photo: First Lady Michelle Obama hosts a poetry reading in honor of the 2014 National Student Poets (from left: Cameron Messinides, Madeleine LeCesne, Ashley Gong, Julia Falkner and Weston Clark) in the Blue Room of the White House, Sept. 18, 2014. (Photo by Paul Morse for the National Student Poets Program.)

 

 

Art.Write.Now.Tour 2014–15

Art.Write.Now., a traveling exhibition of select Scholastic Art & Writing Award–winning works, highlights some of the most stunning examples of teen-produced art and writing in the nation.

Current Cities

  • Art.Write.Now.DC at The U.S. Department of Education and The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, Washington D.C., September 2014 – August 2015
  • Catskill Art Society, Livingston Manor, NY: February 21 – March 22, 2015

Past Cities

  • Salt Lake City Public Library, Salt Lake City, UT: October 22 – November 19, 2014
  • Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI: September 2 – September 21, 2014
  • National Exhibition at Parsons The New School for Design and Pratt Manhattan Gallery, New York, NY: June 5 – June 14, 2014
  • The Laramie County Library, Cheyenne, WY: April 12 – May 15, 2014
  • Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, PA: February 5 – March 2, 2014
  • National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque, NM: November 15 – December 16, 2013
  • Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA: September 6 – October 2, 2013
  • National Exhibition at Parsons The New School for Design and the Pratt Manhattan Gallery, New York, NY: June 1 – June 15, 2013
  • Fort Worth Library, Fort Worth, TX: March 7 – April 27, 2013
  • College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI: September 29 – November 3, 2012
  • Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA: November 16 – December 30, 2012
  • Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, Kansas City, MO: January 24 – February 22, 2013
  • National Exhibition at Parsons The New School for Design, New York, NY: June 2 – June 16, 2012
  • New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, New Orleans, LA: March 29 – April 27, 2012
  • National Constitution Center, Philadelphia, PA: February 16 – March 14, 2012
  • Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR: January 4 – January 27, 2012
  • Chicago Urban Art Society, Chicago, IL: November 20 – December 16, 2011

To get high-res images from the Art.Write.Now. traveling exhibition, click here.

 

 

The 2014 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
Photo Downloads

(right click on a photo and click 'save as' to download a hi-res version)

Photos


Entertainer Nick Cannon addresses almost 1,000
students and their families and teachers at the
national ceremony for the Scholastic Art & Writing
Awards, New York City, June 6, 2014.
 

Entertainer Nick Cannon, renowned artist Kay WalkingStick
and Emmy® Award-winning actor David Strathairn pictured
backstage at Carnegie Hall in New York City for the
Scholastic Art & Writing Awards National Ceremony, June 6, 2014.
 

Emmy® Award-winning actor David Strathairn talks backstage with the 2013 National Student Poets at the 2014 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards at Carnegie Hall in New York City, June 6, 2014.
 

Entertainer Nick Cannon pictured with the 2014 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards’ Portfolio Gold Medalists backstage at Carnegie Hall in New York City, June 6, 2014.
 

The Portfolio Gold Medal winners are honored onstage at the 2014 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards at Carnegie Hall, New York City, June 6, 2014.
 

Renowned artist Kay WalkingStick accepts the Alumni Achievement Award from fashion designer and Scholastic Art & Writing Award Alumnus Zac Posen at the 2014 National Ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City, June 6, 2014.

 
 

Emmy® Award-winning actor David Strathairn reads original poems by the 2013 National Student Poets at the 2014 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards’ National Ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City, June 6, 2014.

 
 

Fashion designer Zac Posen presents the Posen Award to Virginia high school student Ellie Braun at the 2014 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Annual Benefit at the Edison Ballroom, New York City, June 6, 2014.

 

Video Download

2014 National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Highlights:

Award ceremony highlights (for media use only): SAWA-2014.mp4 (119MB)

 

Archived Press Releases