KMAC is once again honored to host the Gold Key and American Vision Nominees Exhibition for 2026. The Scholastic Gold Key Award is given to works that demonstrate originality, skill, and the demonstration of a personal voice. Join us in celebrating these talented students on Friday, February 13th from 5-7:30pm. This event is free and open to the public.

 

As Louisville’s dedicated Contemporary Art Museum, KMAC works to connect our community to art and creative practice through exhibitions, educational programs, and outreach. We often ask artists who collaborate with KMAC when they began to connect with art on a personal level, and they almost unanimously cite the influence of a positive educational  experience in high school as a key reason for pursuing an artistic career. The early accomplishments that opportunities like the Scholastic Art Awards offer give young artists the confidence they need to dedicate themselves to their art. Our regional Gold Key exhibition is sensational, and our emerging artists should be proud of the work they have accomplished this year.

 

Begun in 1923, the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is the longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in the U.S. and the largest source of scholarships for young artists and writers. The Art Awards program recognizes the work of talented young artists in Grades 7-12. Jurors from a wide variety of art disciplines (professional artists, college/university faculty, and retired art educators) evaluate each work entered in one of sixteen 2D and 3D art and design process categories.

 

More than 13 million students have participated and more than $40 million has been distributed nationally in awards and scholarships in the past five years alone! Each year, more than 77,000 students in grades 7 through 12 participate in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Young artists across the country submit more than 300,000 creative works of art to a network of approximately 82 regional art affiliates.

Jefferson County Public Schools is the Regional Affiliate for the Art portion of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for the Louisville Metro Area Art Region and has been since 1991. The counties in our art region are: Jefferson, Bullitt, Hardin, Henry, Nelson, Oldham, Shelby, and Spencer in Kentucky; Clark, Crawford, Floyd, Harrison, and Washington in southern Indiana.