The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers has announced the 2018 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards National Medalists. NCSSM senior Katie Danis won a Silver Medal for her work, “Holy Mole-y: A Highly Enthalpic Track by M.C. Delta T,” in the Film and Animation category.

More than 330,000 works of art and writing were submitted this year, with less than 1% recognized at the national level. Students receiving top awards have been invited to attend a ceremony at Carnegie Hall on June 8 and to participate in showcase events at Parsons School for Design at The New School and Pratt lnstitute’s Pratt Manhattan Gallery in New York City.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is the nation’s most prestigious recognition program for artists and writers. Created for middle and high school students, the contest is designed to recognize young artists and writers for their creative talents, encourage student achievement, and to recognize and applaud art teachers and emphasize the importance of the visual arts in the school curriculum.

By receiving a Scholastic Art & Writing Awards National Medal, students join a legacy of celebrated authors and artists dating back to 1923, and including Richard Avedon, Truman Capote, Lena Dunham, Joyce Maynard, Joyce Carol Oates, Sylvia Plath, Zac Posen, Robert Redford, and Andy Warhol. See the full list of winners in this year’s competition.

Regional awards

NCSSM students also earned awards in the Eastern/Central North Carolina Art Region Scholastic Art Awards, presented in January at Barton College in Wilson, N.C., where the gold and silver key artworks are exhibited each spring. Barton College hosts the Eastern/Central Regional District competition in North Carolina each year, representing 62 counties from the Piedmont to the coast. 

Submissions are juried by luminaries in the visual and literary arts, some of whom are past award recipients. Panelists look for works that best exemplify originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. 

NCSSM’s Eastern/Central North Carolina Art Region Scholastic Art Award winners are:

Gold Key Awardees

Maanasi Bulusu, Study of Edgar Degas

Maanasi Bulusu, Flora

Katie Danis, Holy Mole-y: A Highly Enthalpic Track by M.C. Delta T

Tova Just, Thursday

Silver Key Awardees

Zoe Hatsios, Martha’s Vineyard on Canvas

Jason Lee, Oreo

Helen Li, Spreading Fractures

Sreekar Mantena, Big Dreams, Individual SK

Honorable Mention Awardees

Helen Li, Après La Saint Valentin

Sreekar Mantena, Blissful Happiness