Creative Teens Can Earn Money for College: Young Writers and Artists Grades 7-12 Invited to Submit Work to The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

15 Seniors Will Receive Top Honors and $10,000 Awards; Additional $3.9 Million in Writing and Art Scholarships Available to Selected Students
 

New York, NY — October 1, 2009 — Calling all creative teens saving money for college.  The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, a nonprofit organization that identifies teenagers with exceptional artistic talent and brings their remarkable work to a national audience, has today issued its call for submissions to the 2010 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. The Awards (http://www.artandwriting.org) are the largest source of writing and art scholarships for creative teens in the U.S., offering recognition, exhibition, publication and scholarship opportunities to outstanding students in art and writing.

Students from around the country in grades 7-12 are invited to submit their best work in more than 30 categories, including animation, poetry, sculpture, fashion design, journalism, photography, novel writing, science fiction, and video game design.

The annual Awards competition begins locally as students in grades 7-12 submit works of art and writing, which are evaluated by a panel of local jurors comprised of artists, authors, educators and other arts professionals. Works are evaluated on the time-honored criteria of originality, technical skill and the emergence of a personal vision or voice.

To learn more about regional submission deadlines and how to submit work, visit http://registration.artandwriting.org.

If a student receives a top Award from the regional Art & Writing Awards affiliate, then he or she moves on to the national level, a chance to compete for scholarship opportunities. Each year, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers in New York City receives thousands of works of art and writing, submitted by regional affiliate programs nationwide. 

Starting this year, 15 high school seniors from around the country (up from 12 seniors in previous years) will be honored with a National Portfolio Gold medal, the highest level of achievement, and each will receive a $10,000 cash award. An additional $3.9 million in writing and art scholarships will be made available to Portfolio Gold and Portfolio Silver medal recipients through the Alliance. Award-winning artists also participate in exhibitions in New York City and around the nation, and award-winning writers are included in the Alliance’s publications: Spark: Creative Excellence by our Nation's 7th and 8th Grade Emerging Artists and Writers, the National Catalog, and Best Teen Writing.

The Alliance works with nearly 100 regional affiliate programs across the nation, including partnerships with the National Writing Project and state chapters of the National Art Education Association. The Alliance also partners with service organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club of America, After School Alliance, VSA arts, and the Office of Indian Education, to outreach to as many eligible students as possible.

“In our 87th year, we expect to see the trend continue of more submissions and even more superior work, thanks in part to the extraordinary teachers guiding these talented youth,” said Virginia McEnerney, Executive Director at the Alliance.

The Awards have a distinguished roster of alumni including Andy Warhol, Robert Redford, Sue Miller, Richard Avedon, Philip Pearlstein, Kay WalkingStick, Zac Posen, Joyce Carol Oates, Tom Otterness, Robert Indiana, Sylvia Plath, John Lithgow, and Joyce Maynard, many of whom were able to earn money for college because of the Awards.  Joining Scholastic in supporting the Awards are The New York Times, Command Web Offset, Maurice R. Robinson Fund, Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, Amazon, and Ovation TV, where public service announcements about the Awards will begin airing this fall.

For more information, visit http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/artandwriting.
To find a local affiliate, go to www.artandwriting.org.   

CONTACTS:

Jennifer Boggs
212-343-6619
jboggs@artandwriting.org

Cathy Lasiewicz
212-343-6570
clasiewicz@artandwriting.org