NEW YORK, NY – June 13, 2022 – The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious scholarship and recognition program for young artists and writers in grades 7-12, has triumphantly returned to Carnegie Hall, filming the 2022 National Awards Ceremony with nearly 450 of the nation’s most creative teens present. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Virtual Celebration streaming premiere is on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 at 7:00 pm ET via artandwriting.org/2022virtualnationalceremony, expanding the event’s reach to thousands more across the country and sharing messages of encouragement from some of today’s biggest names in the Arts, Entertainment, and Education worlds. All are invited to view and support these incredible young artists and writers, and can join the conversation using #GoldKey.

 

Highlights of the event will include a special introduction by singer, songwriter, actress, author, and television host Kelly Clarkson; a keynote speech from television host, rapper, actor, and comedian Nick Cannon; remarks by Critics Choice Award-Winning and Emmy® and SAG Award nominated actress, director, PhD and author Mayim Bialik; a message to students from distinguished multidisciplinary artist and 2022 Alumni Achievement Award recipient Derek Fordjour; and a reading of an original poem by 2020 National Student Poet for the Southwest Isabella Ramírez. The virtual celebration will also include three interviews with celebrities—each a current leader in their chosen artistic field—and three 2022 Gold Medal Portfolio Award recipients—the program’s highest honor, which includes a $10,000 scholarship. These conversations feature fashion designer and past Scholastic Award recipient Zac Posen interviewing photographer Franchesca Vilmenay, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds interviewing writer William Meng, and painter and past Scholastic Award recipient Tschabalala Self interviewing artist Dessa Ely.

 

Christopher Wisniewski, Executive Director of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the nonprofit presenter of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, shared: “The past two years may have prevented us from celebrating in person, but nothing has stood in the way of the exceptional passion of our nation’s teens to create remarkable, original works driven by their unique, singular voices. Our nation’s teens have a point of view and through their art and writing, they express their perspectives using talents that are beyond their years. We’re honored you each shared that vision with us and we thank the educators and families who stand with you. This year we are thrilled to have +welcomed back the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards National Medalists to Carnegie Hall to film and experience a ceremony befitting their incredible talent, and welcome entire communities to join in our virtual celebration of each student, their talents, and their bright futures.”  

 

Now in its 99th year, nearly 2,000 students received National Medals in the 2022 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, selected from more than 260,000 submissions from students in U.S. territories, Canada and every state in the nation. The Awards serve as a launch pad for furthering students’ future success by providing them with access to scholarship programs and workshops, as well as the ability to have their work published and displayed in regional and national exhibitions. Past recipients of the Awards include Tschabalala Self, Stephen King, Kay WalkingStick, Amanda Gorman, Charles White, Joyce Carol Oates, and Andy Warhol. The Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, the nonprofit organization behind the Awards, annually provides more than $300,000 in scholarships to top Awards recipients and continually partners with esteemed colleges and universities to make scholarships available for college-bound Scholastic Awards recipients. 

 

For video and photos from the 2022 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards National Ceremony, visit: //mediaroom.scholastic.com/artandwriting#downloads. The Virtual Ceremony was filmed on June 9th during an in-person awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

 

 

About the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards                             

 

Founded in 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are presented by the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, and are made possible through the generosity of Scholastic Inc., The Maurice R. Robinson Fund, New York Life Foundation, Command Companies, The Herb Block Foundation, The Jay Pritzker Foundation, Blick Art Materials, The New York Times, National Endowment for the Arts, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Salamander Fund of the Triangle Community Foundation, Apple TV+, Lindenmeyr, Garcia Family Foundation, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and numerous other individual, foundation, and corporate funders; and, for the National Student Poets Program, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Hearthland Foundation, the Poetry Foundation, and Academy of American Poets.

 

For more information about the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, visit artandwriting.org. Additional details about the Awards can be found in the Scholastic media room: //mediaroom.scholastic.com/artandwriting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Executive Director of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, Christopher Wisniewski, left, CEO of Scholastic, Peter Warwick, center, and Chairman of the Board of the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, Hugh Roome, far right, stand alongside Gold Medal Portfolio recipients backstage at the 2022 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards National Ceremony held at Carnegie Hall, New York, N.Y., Thursday, June 9, 2022. (Photo by Stuart Ramson/AP Images for Alliance for Young Artists & Writers)

 

 

National Student Medalists are recognized at the 2022 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards National Ceremony held at Carnegie Hall, New York, N.Y., Thursday, June 9, 2022. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards were founded in 1923 and, for nearly a century, have inspired bold ideas in creative teens throughout the country. (Photo by Stuart Ramson/AP Images for Alliance for Young Artists & Writers)