We are incredibly excited to announce that the Downing Museum will be hosting the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards!
I’m Emily Lobb Hendricksen, the museum artist-in-residence, and new Scholastic Regional Affiliate Coordinator.
What are the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards? Since 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have recognized the vision, ingenuity and talent of our nation’s youth and provided opportunities for creative teens to be celebrated. Each year, increasing numbers of teens participate in the program and become a part of our community – young artists and writers, filmmakers and photographers, poets and sculptors, video game artists and science fiction writers, along with countless educators who support and encourage the creative process.
Overseen by The Alliance for Young Artist & Writers, their mission states;
“The Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to identify students with exceptional artistic and literary talent and present their remarkable work to the world through the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. The Awards give students opportunities for recognition, exhibition, publication and scholarships.”
Through the Scholastic Awards, teens in grades seven through12 from public, private or home-schools can apply in 29 categories of art and writing for their chance to earn scholarships and have their works exhibited and published. Beyond the awards, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers produces a number of programs to support creative students and their educators, including the Art.Write.Now.Tour, the National Student Poets Program, the Scholastic Awards Summer Workshops and Scholastic Awards Summer Scholarships programs, the Golden Educators Residency, and much more.
Hosting this program is such an honor and a huge responsibility, but I feel that we owe it to our youth interested in the arts this opportunity. The Downing Museum is critically focused on our community outreach and continuing the investment of the arts and youth in our region.
I think it goes without saying that our communities have been dealing with some tough situations over the past year and a half. And we know you probably are, too! Art is such a powerful and beneficial tool to have in order to help heal and grow, not only individually, but as a community, as well. Personally, art has been a great opportunity to help guide me through various aspects of life, including losing a loved one last year. The process of making/creating something in itself is essential to our psychological and physical development. This is why I believe the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is so important for children to participate in. I think after everything they’ve endured over the past 18 months, they deserve to have an opportunity to work toward something they can put their whole heart into. Something that could even lead them to a career in the arts. Not only was I an alumni Gold Key winner in The Awards, it helped facilitate the path to the career I have in the arts now!
If you’re interested in participating, you must be in grades seven through 12, whether home-schooled or attending public or private schools. The deadline for entry form submissions is December 11th at 10:59pm CST. You can visit our affiliate webpage to learn more about the criteria and submit your work at www.artandwriting.org/awards/how-to-enter/. Teachers can also help their students by going online!
The cost per artwork submission is $7 and portfolio entries are $25. There is an option for students to have their fee waived when they fill out their submission form. This year we are only taking on the arts portion and not the writing.
Please feel free to contact me, the new regional affiliate coordinator, for any questions or concerns. Visiting our regional webpage, following us on social media, and signing up for our newsletters are the best ways to stay up-to-date on all things Scholastic. It’s also a great way to find resources on frequently-asked questions.
-by Emily Lobb Hendricksen
Email: ellobb2@yahoo.com
Regional Webpage: www.artandwriting.org/regions/KY003A
About the Author: Emily is a practicing artist who lives in Edmonson County, Kentucky with her husband and two dogs. She earned her undergraduate degrees from UK in Painting, and from WKU in Art History with many classes in Art Ed. Most recently she completed her Masters in Arts Administration from UK. She is a Governor School for the Arts Alumni, and a Gold-Key/American Visions Award recipient of Scholastic. She is currently the Artist-in-Residence at the Downing Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and enjoys playing roller derby.
