All Oak Hills High School students electing to enroll in an Art and Design Department course will develop a Competitive Advantage, Appreciation of the Arts, Creative Thinking and Problem Solving Skills, Interdisciplinary Connections, Social and Global Awareness, and Career Preparation related to Visual Communication.
The State level PTA Reflections winners have been announced. “I Belong” is the theme for this year’s PTA Reflections Program which has been bringing the arts to life from more than 10 million students since 1969. Reflections encourages students of all ages to unleash creative talents and be inspired; express themselves imaginatively in their artwork; experience the fun and joy of making art; tap into critical-thinking skills to create art inspired by the annual theme, and receive positive recognition for their original works of art. It was an exciting year and the State level PTA was honored to receive hundreds of entries from around the state. This year, all 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners to be honored at the annual Reflections Luncheon on Saturday, April 25th, 2026 taking place at the 119th annual Ohio PTA Convention in Columbus.
Congratulations to the following OHHS Art and Design student on their accomplishments:
Photography Alejandra Lui, “The Hearth is Home”, Award of Outstanding Achievement
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards has an impressive legacy dating back to 1923. Over the years, the Awards have grown to become the longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in the U.S., and the nation’s largest source of scholarships for creative young artists and writers. A noteworthy roster of past winners includes Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, Richard Avedon, Robert Redford, Joyce Carol Oates, Stephen King, John Updike, and many more.
Each year, the Alliance partners with more than 100 visual and literary arts organizations across the country to bring The Awards to local communities. Teens in grades 7 through 12 can apply in 28 categories of art and writing for the chance to earn scholarships and have their works exhibited or published. 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.
Gold Key Regional winners compete on the National level for Medalist Awards. Danielle’s work was selected by some of the foremost leaders in the visual and literary arts for excellence in originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. Less than 2,000 works received a National Medal, which places them within the top 1% of all submissions!
Congratulations to Danielle Amlin (12) who earned a Silver Medal for her piece, “Closet Chaos”.
Congratulations to OHHS Art and Design student, Lily McGuire, who was selected as on of the 120 Regional Winners from Ohio for this year’s JESA exhibition! Lily’s entry, “The Melody of the Soul Contained,” beautifully embodies JESA’s mission by celebrating creativity, fostering interdisciplinary learning, and highlighting the powerful connection between music and visual art.
The Juried Exhibition of Student Art (JESA)has been one of the most far-reaching multi-disciplinary art projects for students in grades one through twelve in Indiana since 1986. Held in conjunction with the prestigious International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, this dynamic educational program integrates the performing, literary, and visual arts, encouraging students to explore the connection between music and creative expression. In 2022 alone, JESA engaged more than 21,000 students and 151 art teachers from 57 counties across the state of Indiana. The program is unique in that it awards cash prizes not only to the student Grand Award Winners, but to their schools or sponsoring organizations as well, demonstrating a strong commitment to supporting arts education at every level.
An Awards Ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 2nd at 3:00 PM at the McCoy Center for the Arts in Columbus. The 120 Regional Winners and 30 Streeter Hadley Matthews Grand Award Winners are all invited to attend the ceremony to receive their awards along with their families, teachers and principals.
“The Memory Project” is a nonprofit organization that invites art teachers and their students to create portraits for youth around the world who have faced substantial challenges, such as neglect, abuse, loss of parents, and extreme poverty. Over the past ten years, Drawing and Printmaking and NAHS students have created over 500 portraits for children in Madagascar, the Philippines, and Syrian refugees in Jordan, Puerto Rico, the Rohingya in Rakhine, Columbia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, and India. This year, students at OHHS created portraits for 30 Cambodian children.
Children in Cambodia face a complex set of challenges that affect their safety, education, health, and long-term opportunities. Many children grow up in poverty, which limits access to adequate nutrition, clean water, sanitation, healthcare, and stable housing, particularly in rural areas. Malnutrition and preventable illnesses remain common and can have lasting effects on physical and cognitive development. Although education is officially free, hidden costs, the need for children to work to support their families, and uneven school quality often lead to irregular attendance or early dropout, with girls sometimes facing additional barriers due to gender expectations. Child labor, trafficking, and exploitation continue to place vulnerable children at risk, while child protection systems are under-resourced and struggle to respond effectively to abuse and neglect. These challenges are further intensified by climate change, as floods, droughts, and heat affect food security, health, and livelihoods, creating an environment in which many Cambodian children must navigate overlapping social, economic, and environmental pressures as they grow up.
“The Memory Project” portraits are created by students enrolled in the Drawing and Printmaking course (grades 9-12). The students began by analyzing the artwork of Kehinde Wiley and used the information provided about the children’s favorite things, colors, and hopes for the future to design the background of the image. Below, you can see the delivery video which focuses on the children’s happiness and joyful reactions to receiving the artwork.
Each spring, the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. Since the competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated. This is a prestigious competition. The Grand Prize winning artwork will represent the 8th Congressional District of Ohio in Washington, D.C., by being displayed in the U.S. Capitol as part of a year-long exhibit. The winning artist receives a free round-trip airfare for the national winners’ reception in Washington, D.C. The other First Place winning piece will be displayed in congressman Warren Davidson’s Butler County District Office for one year.
This year, the students from schools throughout Ohio District 8 submitted works for the competition. Congratulations to this year’s OHHS Art and Design students who reside in District 8 who submitted work and were selected for this year’s exhibition and competition!
Baylee Moorman Michael Smith
Baylee Moorman, “The Collection”Michael Smith, “Falling Awake”
Awards will be announced at the Congressional Art Competition Exhibition and Award Reception at the Springfield Township ArtsConnect – The Grove Event Center (9158 Winton Rd., Building B, Cincinnati, OH 45231) on Saturday, April 11, 2026 from 10am to 12pm. Winners will be announced at 10:30 am.
OHHS Art and Design 