Awards | Alliance for Young Artists & Writers

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The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers celebrates the creative achievement of America’s teens. The Awards were founded in 1923 to offer recognition and scholarships for students for their artistic talents. Students who excel in the visual arts and creative writing participate in The Awards to earn recognition, get their work exhibited or published, and to earn scholarships.

RECOGNITION

During the 2010 program year, more than 30,000 students were recognized in their local communities, and 1,300 students received National Awards. Students and teachers are celebrated at regional ceremonies, public events and the National Ceremony at Carnegie Hall.

Regional Awards

Gold Key: The highest level of achievement on the regional level. Gold Key works are forwarded to New York City for national adjudication.
American Visions & Voices Nominees: Works named “Best of Show” for each region.
Silver Key: Works worthy of recognition on the regional level.
Honorable Mention: Work demonstrating artistic potential.

National Awards

Gold Medal: The most outstanding works in the nation.
American Visions & Voices Medal: Works selected from the American Visions & Voices nominees as the national “Best in Region.”
Silver Medal: Works demonstrating high honors on the national level.

EXHIBITION

The Alliance's Regional Affiliates mount more than 60 art exhibitions in museums and galleries across the country. Regional exhibitions include Milwaukee Art Museum, WI; Miami Art Museum, FL; Ft. Wayne Museum of Art, IN; Stauth Memorial Museum, KS; College for Creative Studies, MI; Mississippi Museum of Art, MS; and Armory Center for the Arts, CA; among many others.

The 2010 National Scholastic Art & Writing Teen Exhibition will be on display in New York City from June 9-25, 2010 in the Courtyard Gallery at the World Financial Center. Approximately 450 works of art and more than 50 works of writing from the National Award winners will be included in the exhibition. The Alliance also holds ongoing exhibitions at the U.S. Department of Education and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.

PUBLICATION

Selections from The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are published in the National Catalog, Best Teen Writing, and Spark (anthology of work by middle school students), which are distributed to schools and libraries nationwide. Works have also appeared in Scholastic publications including The Best Young Writers & Artists in America (Push), Scope magazine, Junior Scholastic magazine, Scholastic Art magazine, New York Times Upfront magazine.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Scholarships for students in grades 7 – 11: More than 50 students in grades 7 – 11 will earn up to $2,500 to attend summer art and writing camps and precolleges through the Young Artist Awards scholarship program. Students who have earned Young Artist Awards have studied video game design, fashion, news media, and creative writing, just to name a few. To apply for summer scholarships, students must earn a Gold Key and submit an additional Young Artist Awards application and a portfolio of three works of art or writing. Young Artist Awards scholarship decisions are based on both merit and financial need.

Scholarships for Students in the 12th Grade: At the regional level, award-winning seniors have access to more than $3.5 million in scholarships from local institutions. At 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. Additionally seniors who earn Portfolio Gold Medals or Portfolio Silver Medals can leverage partial to full-ride scholarships from a network of 60 arts universities and institutes, which annually earmark $3.9 million in financial aid.

Art Scholarship Partners (PDF)
Writing Scholarship Partners (PDF)

The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the nonprofit organization that administers The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, recognizes the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design as a consortium of leading art and design colleges in the U.S.

Teacher Awards

Fifteen $1,000 awards are presented to sponsoring teachers of Art and Writing Portfolio Gold Medalists. Two teachers will earn special Ovation Inspired Teaching $1,000 awards for submitting the greatest number of National Award-winning submissions in art and writing.