The Scholastic Awards have been promoting the artistic efforts of teens across the country for over 100 years. The founder of the Scholastic awards, M.R. Robinson hoped to give recognition to students with superior talent, encourage teachers to put greater importance on the arts, and create a stronger appreciation for the arts overall, especially from the artists themselves. He specifically wanted to award originality, technical skill that enhances the message of the work, and an emergence of a personal vision or voice. Robinson also outlined the ideals of the judging process. He believed the most important aspects were blind judging, freedom of expression so that no work would be disqualified based on its content, and making sure the work showed the three criteria stated above. 

Each year students submit their works for the chance at an honorable mention, or Silver or Gold Key in their region. If an artist is awarded a Gold Key they are then entered into a national competition to earn a Silver or Gold Medal. Those who earn a Gold Key also have the chance to be entered for American Visions and Voices. Only five are chosen for each region and one per region to be ultimately used to represent its region. 

Scholastic Awards recognize a multitude of mediums. These include:

• Art Categories
  • Architecture & Industrial Design
  • Ceramics & Glass
  • Comic Art
  • Design Journalism
  • Digital Art
  • Drawing & Illustration
  • Editorial Cartoon
  • Expanded Projects
  • Fashion
  • Film & Animation
  • Jewelry
  • Mixed Media
  • Painting
  • Photography
  • Printmaking
  • Sculpture
  • Art Portfolio (graduating seniors only)
• Writing Categories
  • Critical Essay
  • Dramatic Script
  • Flash Fiction
  • Humor
  • Novel Writing
  • Personal Essay & Memoir
  • Poetry
  • Science Fiction & Fantasy
  • Short Story
  • Writing Portfolio (graduating seniors only)

Anyone can enter as many works as they want with limits only being on photography which allows only 16 works and only two portfolios can be submitted. Submissions open in Fall, work is due in December, regional awards are announced in January and national awards are announced in March.

Winning an award can also lend way to many scholarship opportunities. Winners of American Voices & Visions each get $500. Another award, the Flaunt It Award, asks students to explore what makes them different and share a personal story. This scholarship also requires an extra personal statement on how your work fits the theme. There are two awards to be given of $2000 for the artist. The Herblock Award for Editorial Cartoon has three awards for visual artists that present a commentary or criticism on current events, social events, or political topics. For anyone that submits a portfolio that wins a Gold Medal can win $12,500 or a Silver Medal which awards $2000. Other works that win a national award can win $500 from the Best-in-Grade Award. Two art and two writing awards are given per grade. If your work explores themes of death and grief and you include a personal statement on your experience, you have a chance to win $2,500. Winning these awards can also win money for the artist’s educator. These can range from $50 to $1000.

Academic Magnet lies within the boundaries of the South Carolina Lowcountry Region, which includes areas from Charleston to Beaufort. Each year, students who win gold and silver keys in the regional awards are invited to attend the award ceremony at the Savannah College of Art and Design, just a hundred miles south in Georgia. The full list of award winners (including honorable mentions) can be found below:

• Emma Fang: Poetry, Honorable Mention
• Suzette Head: Novel Writing, Honorable Mention
• Freya Lawrence: Novel Writing, Honorable Mention
• Lillian Osbon: Poetry, Gold Key
• Dora Wang: Personal Essay, Honorable Mention
• Harper Woodlee: 5 submissions for writing, 1 Gold Key, 3 Silver Keys, 1 Honorable Mention
• Xi Chen: Drawing & Illustration, Honorable Mention
• Susan Dong: Painting, Silver Key
• Nikki Wu: Digital Art, Gold Key & American Visions Nominee

To celebrate the awards, the authors of this article traveled to the award ceremony in Savannah, embarking on a short two-hour road trip down south to appreciate everything the foundation had to offer. The ceremony itself was held in SCAD’s Alexander Hall, an art gallery that also functions as an educational space. The walls were filled with dozens of artworks created by various SCAD students, but the real focus of the exhibition was the two galleries worth of high school student art.

A large majority of the Lowcountry’s award winning artworks, ranging from mediums such as photography to fashion design, were displayed in these galleries. The portfolios of several talented artists were on display, and there was also a screen that cycled through a variety of “extended projects.” Such projects generally consisted of short animations and loops, with an assortment of different themes. 

While the art awards were allotted the span of two galleries, the writing awards were treated much differently – the works of award winning writers from around the Lowcountry were relegated to a simple display on a few iPads in the corner of the room. While this is an understandable method of display, especially considering that the walls may not have room for all of the writing, it was still bothersome to have to wait twenty minutes for the chance to peruse the award winning writing.

Aside from merely displaying the art and writing, there was an additional speech from the regional judges to celebrate the overall award winners, as well as honor the regional American Visions and Voices nominees. There were also a variety of educational workshops for students to participate in: SCAD students led short classes in printmaking and gesture drawing. The awards also offered slight snacks and sweet treats to attendees, though the food wasn’t very filling – though there were a wide variety of restaurants within walking distance of the exhibition hall, meaning it wasn’t a big problem.

Submitting to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is a fulfilling experience, not solely because of the opportunities it offers, but because it gives you the chance to be recognized for your hard work and efforts while also being surrounded by a community of like-minded writers and artists. If you have a passion for creating art, consider submitting your work to the awards during the next cycle!