Contact:

For Golden Artists Colors, Inc.
Jodi O’Dell, 607-847-6154, jodell@goldenpaints.com

For Scholastic
Mike Barrett, 212-343-6570, mbarrett@scholastic.com

NEW YORK – AUGUST 3, 2016 – Three art educators were selected for the second annual GOLDEN Educators Residency – a two-week art residency created by nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, in partnership with Golden Artist Colors. This residency honors educators with students who received recognition in the 2016 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the country's longest-running and most prestigious scholarship program for creative teens in grades 7–12. Isaac AlaridPease of Media Arts Collaborative Charter School in Albuquerque, NM, Jessica Clark of Lumberton Senior High School in Lumberton, NC, and Bryan Wilson of Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte, NC, are this year’s 2016 Artist Residency honorees. For more information about the GOLDEN Educators Residency, visit http://www.artandwriting.org/news-and-events/golden-residency/.

From July 20 to August 2, 2016, these three artists-in-residence lived in private apartments at the Sam & Adele Golden Foundation Artist Residence in New Berlin, New York, and received the unparalleled opportunity to enhance their own artistic skills through access to large studio spaces and a vast array of unique painting materials and technologies from Golden Artist Colors, which is located just a few hundred yards from the Residency Barn.

“My time here was invaluable. The opportunity to connect with the GOLDEN company, family and products gave me a new way to approach my painting practice, as well as more efficient ways to use paint” said Bryan Wilson. “This Residency was a ‘game changer’ for me. I was treated primarily as an artist and, at the same time, respected for my experience as a teacher.”

“This has been an amazing and life-changing experience for me that will definitely impact my artistic practice and role as an art educator,” said Jessica Clark.

“This entire experience has been nurturing and transformative for me both as an artist and as an educator. I’m thrilled and thankful for these two weeks as a Golden Educator in Residence,” said Isaac AlaridPease.

“Our renewed partnership with Golden Artist Colors and the expansion of the GOLDEN Educators Residency is an unprecedented opportunity to celebrate and support art educators as they pursue their own artistic visions,” said Virginia McEnerney, Executive Director of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. “We know that this residency will renew their creative spirits and inspire them when they return to their classrooms in the fall.”

While in residence, the three educators focused on developing their own artistic practices while exploring Golden Artist Colors’ wide range of custom and experimental acrylic, oil and watercolor products available for professional artists working with paint. On-site GOLDEN Materials and Application Specialists challenged them to use innovative materials, open new channels for creative expression, and expand the way they think about the painting process. Residents attended daily exploratory workshops and gained 24/7 access to open studio space and 140 acres of pastoral meadows within the premises. Also included in the residency were two weeks of room, board, studio, and travel costs, plus each 2016 Scholastic Art & Writing Award educator received a one-year membership with the National Art Education Association, supplies of GOLDEN’s high-quality art materials, and a $1,000 gift certificate for additional GOLDEN paints and supplies.

Mark Golden, CEO of Golden Artist Colors said, “It has been so exciting to share the resources here with these exceptional artists. It is clear that their talent as artists adds immensely to the value they bring to the classroom. Their willingness and delight in exploring everything here will hopefully be an aid to their own work in the future and I am confident this will extend to their students as well.”

Educators working in paint with at least one student who received recognition in the 2016 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards were invited to apply to the Golden Educators Residency. From this pool of thoughtful and inspiring submissions, three teachers were selected as GOLDEN Educators Residents through a competitive juried process based on the quality of their personal submitted artwork. Deadlines for educators’ students to apply to the 2017 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards vary by region throughout the winter months, with National Medalists announced in March 2017. To learn more about the Awards, visit the Scholastic Media Room online at mediaroom.scholastic.com/artandwriting.

(Click on each image to open a hi-res version in a new window)

Jessica Clark of Lumberton Senior High School (Lumberton, North Carolina) was selected for the second annual GOLDEN Educators Residency – a two-week art residency created by nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, in partnership with Golden Artist Colors. This residency honors educators with students who received recognition in the 2016 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the country's longest-running and most prestigious scholarship program for creative teens in grades 7–12. From July 20 – August 2, 2016, Clark had access to large studio spaces and a vast array of unique painting materials and technologies from Golden Artist Colors, which is located just a few hundred yards from the Residency Barn.

Issac AlaridPease of Media Arts Collaborative Charter School (Albuquerque, New Mexico)   was selected for the second annual GOLDEN Educators Residency – a two-week art residency created by nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, in partnership with Golden Artist Colors. This residency honors educators with students who received recognition in the 2016 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the country's longest-running and most prestigious scholarship program for creative teens in grades 7–12. From July 20 – August 2, 2016, Clark had access to large studio spaces and a vast array of unique painting materials and technologies from Golden Artist Colors, which is located just a few hundred yards from the Residency Barn.

Bryan Wilson of Northwest School of the Arts (Charlotte, North Carolina) (pictured right) talks to Virginia McEnerney, Executive Direct of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, about his work of art. AlridPease was selected for the second annual GOLDEN Educators Residency – a two-week art residency created by nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, in partnership with Golden Artist Colors. This residency honors educators with students who received recognition in the 2016 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the country's longest-running and most prestigious scholarship program for creative teens in grades 7–12. From July 20 – August 2, 2016, Clark had access to large studio spaces and a vast array of unique painting materials and technologies from Golden Artist Colors, which is located just a few hundred yards from the Residency Barn.

Virginia McEnerney, Executive Direct of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, (far left) congratulates this year’s nationally selected educator residents (L-R: Issac AlaridePease, Bryan Wilson and Jessica Clark). These three educators were selected for the second annual GOLDEN Educators Residency – a two-week art residency created by nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, in partnership with Golden Artist Colors. This residency honors educators with students who received recognition in the 2016 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the country's longest-running and most prestigious scholarship program for creative teens in grades 7–12. From July 20 – August 2, 2016, these educators had access to large studio spaces and a vast array of unique painting materials and technologies from Golden Artist Colors, which is located just a few hundred yards from the Residency Barn.

About the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers:
The mission of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is to identify teenagers with exceptional creative talent and bring their remarkable work to a national audience through the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Founded in 1923, the Awards program is the longest-running, most prestigious initiative of its kind, having fostered the creativity and talent of millions of students through recognition, exhibition, publication, and scholarships. Well-known Alumni of the program who received Awards when they were teens include Andy Warhol, Richard Avedon, Sylvia Plath, Joyce Carol Oates, Lena Dunham, Zac Posen, and many more. www.artandwriting.org

About Golden Artist Colors, Inc.:
Golden Artist Colors, Inc. is a manufacturer of artist quality materials including colors and mediums for painting in acrylics, oils and most recently, watercolor. With two locations, a 100,000-square-foot facility in rural Columbus, N.Y., and a 45,000-square-foot commercial warehouse and distribution center in Norwich, N.Y., the company’s 200 employees are committed to producing materials that encourage exploration of form and concept, while assuring archival integrity. The GOLDEN brand of acrylics is known for quality and archival integrity as well as being the most innovative and extensive system available. The company also owns Williamsburg Handmade Oil Colors, which is known for its quality and extensive palette of colors including genuine Italian and French earth colors. QoR®, a new, thoroughly modern watercolor is made with an exclusive Aquazol binder, providing more pigment in every brushstroke, as well as color strength, range and versatility unmatched in the history of watercolors. Furthermore, the Custom Lab at GOLDEN serves artists and organizations by formulating materials to fit their needs and purposes. For information about Golden Artist Colors and its comprehensive product offering, call 1-800-959-6543. You can also visit www.goldenpaints.com, www.williamsburgoils.com or www.qorcolors.com. For more details about the Sam & Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts, go to www.goldenfoundation.org.