Submissions for the 2012 NYC based award are now being accepted in 28 categories at https://www.artandwriting.org/
Last year ESA submitted 40% of all international entries!
From the site:
Since their founding, the Awards have identified the early promise of some of our nation’s most exceptional visionaries. Our alumni include artists like Andy Warhol, Philip Pearlstein, and Cy Twombly, writers Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, and Joyce Carol Oates, photographer Richard Avedon, actors Frances Farmer, Robert Redford, Alan Arkin, and John Lithgow, filmmakers Stan Brakhage, Ken Burns, and Ned Vizzini, and many more. Outside the arts, Awards’ alumni employ their creativity to become successful in any number of ways – leaders in fields like journalism, medicine, finance, government and civil affairs, the law, science, toy design, and more.
Teens in grades 7 through 12, from public, private, or home schools, can apply in 28 categories of art and writing for their chance to earn scholarships and have their works exhibited or published. Students also submit work for special awards offered by sponsors including New York Life, the National Constitution Center, the AMD Foundation, Duck Tape®, 3D Systems, and Ovation – and for special honors like the National Student Poets Program, a joint project between the Alliance, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, and the Institute for Museum and Library Services.
Year after year the program grows with increased participation from students and communities across the country. In the past five years alone, submissions have topped 700,000 works, and students have been eligible for over $25 million in awards and scholarships.
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards continues to be the longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens, and the largest source of scholarships for young artists and writers.
What You Can Win
RECOGNITION
Students who win at the regional level are celebrated at local ceremonies and have their work showcased in exhibitions, publications and at public readings. National Medalists are celebrated at a prestigious Carnegie Hall ceremony and have their work showcased in reputable galleries in New York City.
REGIONAL AWARDS
Gold Key: The highest level of achievement on the regional level. Approximately 7 – 10% of all regional submissions are recognized with Gold Key Awards and all are considered for national-level recognition.
Silver Key: Approximately 10 – 15% of all regional submissions are recognized with Silver Key Awards.
Honorable Mention: This Award recognizes students with artistic potential. Approximately 15 – 20% of all regional submissions receive Honorable Mention Awards.
NATIONAL AWARDS
Gold Medal: The most outstanding works in the nation.
Silver Medal: Works demonstrating high honors on the national level.
EXHIBITION
The Alliance’s Regional Programs mount more than 70 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 2012 National ART.WRITE.NOW NYC Exhibition, showcasing National Gold Medalist work, will be on display in New York City in June 2012 coinciding with the national celebration at Carnegie Hall on June 1, 2012. 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 and in cities across the country via the ART.WRITE.NOW national touring exhibition.
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
The Alliance presents over $250,000 annually in awards and scholarships to top winners of the Awards and their teachers. National Medalist seniors are eligible to receive scholarships through partnerships with esteemed colleges and universities.