SCHOLASTIC ART AWARDS 2012
February 3, 2012
The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing outstanding visual art and writing created by teenagers to a national audience, has launched the 2011 Scholastic Art Awards. 179 student Gold Key award-winning works of art are on display in this gallery.
Known nationally as the oldest art contest in the United States, the annual awards competition began locally in early January, as students, grades 7-12, in the Louisville Metropolitan region submitted works of art in a wide array of categories, including painting, sculpture, fashion, design, digital art and photography. The entries, submitted to the Jefferson County Public Schools Arts and Humanities Specialist, were evaluated by a panel of local jurors comprised of artists, art educators and arts professionals. Entries were eligible from all public, private and parochial school in thirteen surrounding counties.
If a student receives a top Award (Gold Key) from the local Louisville Metropolitan Regional Art Awards, then he or she moves on to the national level. Winners are sent to New York City for adjudication. Award recipients at the national level are invited to participate in the Awards Ceremony held at Carnegie Hall.
Five works are also honored with the American Visions Nominee award. These five artworks go on to compete with only the American Visions Nominees from all other regions. Each year, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers in New York City receives thousands of works of art, submitted by regional affiliate programs nationwide.
On the national level, $10,000 scholarships are given to 15 graduating seniors who earn Portfolio Gold Medals in the Art, Photography, General Writing and Nonfiction categories. A select number of Portfolio Silver Medalists will earn $1,000 Notable Achievement Awards. An additional 400 seniors who earn Portfolio Silver Medals or Portfolio Gold Medals will leverage partial to full-ride scholarships from a network of 60 arts universities and institutes, which annually earmark $3.9 million in financial aid. More than 40 students will earn Young Artist Awards and receive up to $2,500 tuition scholarships to attend summer art and writing programs. These Gold Key award-winning teens will develop their creative skills by enrolling in 3–6 week summer intensive art or writing classes.
Distinguished artists and writers who received an Art & Writing Award when they were in high school include Andy Warhol, Robert Redford, Sue Miller, Richard Avedon, Philip Pearlstein, Zac Posen, Joyce Carol Oates, Tom Otterness, Robert Indiana, Sylvia Plath, John Lithgow, and Joyce Maynard. Since Scholastic founded the program in 1923, more than 13 million of America’s most talented teens have participated in the Awards, and 2.5 million have been recognized through exhibition and publication and have shared in more than $25 million in cash awards and college scholarships.
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