New York,
NY (April
18,
2005) --
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, a national program that offers early recognition of creative teenagers and scholarship opportunities for graduating high-school seniors, today named more than 1,200 of America’s most talented young artists and writers from across the country as this year’s national award recipients. Since Scholastic founded the program in 1923, more than 13 million of America’s most talented junior high and high school students (grades 7-12) have participated in The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and 2.5 million have been recognized and shared in more than $25 million in cash awards and college scholarships. This year, twelve high-school seniors from around the country were honored with the National Portfolio Gold Award, the highest level of achievement, and will each receive a $10,000 cash award. An additional $1.5 million in tuition scholarships is made available to students, both regionally and nationally, through The Awards.
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards bring outstanding visual art and writing created by teenagers to a national audience by showcasing their remarkable work and encouraging their creative journey and career development. The Awards have honored distinguished past winners such as Richard Avedon, Andy Warhol, Robert Redford, Truman Capote, Sylvia Plath, Joyce Maynard, Joyce Carol Oates and Bernard Malamud and continue to provide a platform for creative expression for millions of students across the country. This year’s twelve Portfolio Gold Award recipients represent the most talented young artists and writers in America and include:
“Every year, the students recognized by The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards exemplify the level of achievement that is possible when schools and communities make a commitment to quality arts education programs,” said BJ Adler, executive director of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. “For more than eighty years, The Awards have identified both accomplishment and potential in young artists and writers, and have given recognition to teenagers who have gone on to become some of our nation’s most influential artists and writers.”
Art Portfolio Gold Award Recipients of 2005
Abdullahi Farah, age 17, Owings Mills, MD
Samuel Hooper, age 17, Timonium, MD
Philip Kim, age 17, Westfield, NJ
Joram Kwak, age 17,Edgewater, NJ
Marcos Ortega, age 18, Wauwatosa, WI
Photography Portfolio Gold Award Recipients of 2005
Kathleen Ching, age 17, Brooklyn, NY
Gabrielle Sirkin, age 17, Middlebury, CT
Writing Portfolio Gold Award Recipients of 2005
Amanda Gotera, age 17, Cedar Falls, IA
Mary-Kate Spring Lee, age 17, Harrisburg, PA
Richard Prins, age 17, New York, NY
Carina Schorske, age 17, San Rafael, CA
Meredyth Sneed, age 18, Tulsa, OK
“Every year, the students recognized by The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards exemplify the level of achievement that is possible when schools and communities make a commitment to quality arts education programs,” said BJ Adler, executive director of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. “For more than eighty years, The Awards have identified both accomplishment and potential in young artists and writers, and have given recognition to teenagers who have gone on to become some of our nation’s most influential artists and writers.”
On June 2, 2005, the Award Recipients will be celebrated during a ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City. In addition, selected student artwork will be on public display at the Diane von Furstenberg Studio in New York City from June 2-4, 2005, before a larger exhibition travels to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., June 18-August 8, 2005.
Each year, The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, administered by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, a non-profit organization, receive more than 250,000 works of art and writing, submitted through 90 regional affiliate programs across the nation for consideration in 25 categories of art and writing. The entries are evaluated locally and nationally by a panel of jurors comprised of renowned artists, authors, educators, and arts professionals. Notable past and current jurors include Robert Frost, Elizabeth Bishop, William Saroyan, Frank McCourt, Andy Rooney, Judy Blume, KiKi Smith, George Plimpton and Philip Pearlstein.
About The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
M.R. Robinson, the founder of Scholastic Inc., established The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in 1923, and the Company continues to be the program’s largest corporate sponsor. The Alliance brings outstanding visual art and writing created by teenagers to a national audience by showcasing their remarkable work and encouraging their creative journey and career development. In addition to awarding annual scholarships to top portfolio award recipients, the Alliance collaborates with colleges across the country that make an additional $1.5 million in financial aid available to award recipients with exceptional promise.
The Awards program and the work of the Alliance are made possible through the lead support of Scholastic Inc. Generous leadership support is also provided by The Maurice R. Robinson Fund and The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Trust. Presenting Sponsors are The New York Times Company, Accenture, JPMorgan Chase, Command Web Offset and The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation.
For more information, log on to www.artandwriting.org.
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**Student interviews, samples of student artwork and a complete list of the 2005 Scholastic Art & Writing Award Recipients are available upon request. **