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 2011 program year, more than 50,000 students will be recognized in their local communities, and 1,300 students will receive National Awards. Students and teachers will be 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 2011 National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Exhibition will be on display in New York City in June 2011 coinciding with the national celebration at Carnegie Hall on May 31, 2011. Approximately 300 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 free of charge 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

Creativity & Citizenship Award
The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers presents the Creativity and Citizenship Award in collaboration with the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Three students will each earn $1,000 scholarships for their national award-winning art or writing.

New York Life Award
Creative expression can be a powerful way to manage the grieving process. Teens in grades 7 - 12 are encouraged to submit their works of art and writing that deal with loss and bereavement to the 2011 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for the opportunity to earn recognition as part of a special New York Life Award. Six winners will be selected to receive $1,000 scholarships and top works will be shown as part of the annual national exhibition in June 2011.

B.I.G AWARDS (Best In Grade)
The Alliance will provide $500 scholarships to 2 artists and 2 writers for each grade level (7–12) in The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. These Best in Grade scholarships will be chosen from national Gold Medals across all categories.

Young Artist Awards
More than 90 students in grades 7 - 11 will earn full-ride scholarships 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, 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.

Undergraduate Tuition Scholarships
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. This year, an additional 30 seniors will earn $1,000 Distinguished Achievement Awards.

Alliance Scholarship Partners
The Alliance and its Regional Affiliates partner with universities, colleges and art institutes to offer partial to full-ride scholarships to Scholastic Award winners. These scholarships are provided by participating schools. At the regional level, award-winning seniors have access to more than $3.5 million in scholarships from local institutions. Seniors who earn Portfolio Gold Medals or Portfolio Silver Medals on the national level 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.

The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the nonprofit organization that presents 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

The Alliance rewards teachers for the mentorship of the top-winning students in The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

Portfolio Gold Teacher Award
Fifteen $1,000 awards are presented to sponsoring teachers of Art and Writing Portfolio Gold Medalists.

Distinguished Portfolio Teacher Award
Thirty $250 awards are presented to sponsoring teachers of Distinguished Portfolio Medalists.

Ovation Inspired Teaching Award
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.