Congratulations to OHHS Art and Design student Mars Shorten whose portfolio of works was one of the 19 selected from the Regional entries to advance to the Visual Arts Semi-Final Competition of The Overture Awards. Mars will compete against 13 other Semi-Finalists from schools around the region on February 4th. Mars was nominated by Ms. Schorsch to submit a portfolio for this year’s competition and is one of 4 juniors selected to advance to the Semi-Finals. Entries advancing to the finals will be announced on February 24, 2022

The Overture Awards Competition is the area’s largest solo arts competition and offers awards in six artistic disciplines: creative writing, dance, instrumental music, theater, visual art, and vocal music. For the 2022 competition, students may win $4,000 (one awarded in each discipline) or $1000 finalist award. Judges at all levels of the competition are drawn from the professional arts community.

Each year, the Alliance partners with more than 100 visual arts and literary arts organizations across the country to bring the Scholastic Awards to local communities. Teens in grades 7–12 (ages 13 and up) apply in 29 categories of art and writing. In 2020, students submitted nearly 350,000 works of art and writing to the Scholastic Awards. 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.

Award notifications are in! Congratulations to these very talented OHHS Art and Design students on their accomplishments this year in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.

Art Portfolio: Silver Key Winner
Henry Groh

This highly competitive category is based upon submission of a series of 6 distinct works that communicate a single cohesive idea or visual investigation and accompanying artist statement. 

Gold Key Winners

Below are the works that earned Gold Keys, 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.

Sydney Berting, “Spectral”, Gold Key
Madelyn Erskine, “Peek”, Gold Key
Flynn Koehler, “Homogeneity”, Gold Key
Vanessa Saunders, “What Dreams May Come”, Gold Key
Mars Shorten, “The Space Between”, Gold Key
Mars Shorten, “Resonate”, Gold Key

Silver Key Winners

Approximately 10 – 15% of all regional submissions are recognized with Silver Key Awards.

Anna Ackman, “The Plush Life”, Silver Key
Dahlia Baer, “Through the Looking Glass”, Silver Key
Ava Bunke, Nancy Insprucker, “Monster”, Silver Key
Carly Butts, “Warm Sunset”, Silver Key
Kaylee Butts, “Fin’s Obsession”, Silver Key
Ellie Cox, “Daily Drip”, Silver Key
Ellie Cox, “Optimistic Horizons”, Silver Key
Kelsey Gallagher, “Concealer”, Silver Key
Annabelle Hageman, “Finish Line”, Silver Key
Flynn Koehler, “’Lil Mannequin Man”, Silver Key
Flynn Koehler, “Best of Both Worlds”, Silver Key
Taylor Messer, “Alone”, Silver Key
Sophia Osborne, “Illuminated”, Silver Key
Norah Piegols, “Drawn From Life”, Silver Key
Anne Riley, “Precious”, Silver Key
Vanessa Saunders, “Brothers”, Silver Key
Audrey Swagler, “Feathers”, Silver Key

Honorable Mentions

Approximately 15 – 20% of all regional submissions receive Honorable Mention Awards.

Irem Bakici, “Perfect Outfit”, Honorable Mention
Sydney Berting, “ Caloric Crusade”, Honorable Mention
Sarah Bosse, “Beyond the Gate”, Honorable Mention
Jordanne Boston, Alex Karnes, Elliet Schulte, “Caution to the Eye”, Honorable Mention
Anna Caito, “The Gang’s All Here”, Honorable Mention
Alexia Vallovera Florensa, “Don’t Even”, Honorable Mention
Robert Hart, “Forgotten Hand”, Honorable Mention
Riley Hobbs, “Raman Bowl”, Honorable Mention
Madison Hughes, “Forgotten”, Honorable Mention
Jackson Jones, “Cracked”, Honorable Mention
Flynn Koehler, “Child’s Play”, Honorable Mention
Allison Lay, “Lakeside Promenade” Honorable Mention
Ally Martini, “Accomplishments”, Honorable Mention
Jason Nguygen, “From the Bunches”, Honorable Mention
Emma Osborne, “Disorientation”, Honorable Mention
Anne Riley, “Joy Ride”, Honorable Mention
Mars Shorten, “Voyeur”, Honorable Mention
Zoe Wuerdeman, “Nightmare”, Honorable Mention

Art and Writing Awards Exhibition
The exhibition of award-winning works will be on display at the Art Academy of Cincinnati from Monday, February 14th through Friday, February 18th, 2022. The AAC will also be uploading photos of all recipients, work via Flickr. Please check back in February for more details.

2022 Recipient Celebration
WHERE: Site 1212, Center for Community Impact
1212 Jackson Street, Cincinnati OH, 45202
WHEN: Friday, February 18th, 2022 starting @ 5:30pm, ending @ 9:00pm

PLEASE NOTE that the 2022 Scholastic Celebration is a masked and vaccinated event. They will be checking vaccine cards at the door and masks are required throughout the building. If you do not have a mask they will provide one for you. If you are not vaccinated you must show proof of a negative COVID-19 test that is taken at least 72 hours ahead of the event. Under no circumstances will the public be allowed to enter the building if they do not meet these qualifications.

The Overture Awards is a program that recognizes, encourages, and rewards excellence in the arts among Greater Cincinnati students in grades 9-12. Its mission is to encourage arts education as an integral part of a student’s academic experience and to create an environment that encourages training in, and appreciation of, the arts. The Overture Awards Competition is the area’s largest solo arts competition and offers awards in six artistic disciplines: creative writing, dance, instrumental music, theater, visual art, and vocal music. For the 2022 competition, students may win $3,000 (one awarded in each discipline) or $1,000 finalist award. Judges at all levels of the competition are drawn from the professional arts community.

Best of luck in the Regional Competition to OHHS Art and Design students Henry Groh, Flynn Koehler, Skylei James, Sophia Osborne, and Mars Shorten who were nominated by Ms. Schorsch to participate in this year’s competition. Check out a sampling of their portfolio of work submissions below:

Henry Groh

Flynn Koehler

Skylei James

Sophia Osborne

Marshall Shorten

Semi-Finalists will be posted on the CAA’s website by 5pm on Friday, January 21st, 2022.

“Celebrating Art” is devoted to the promotion and appreciation of student art. The intent of their student art contest is to motivate student artists. The top entries are published in an anthology that will record the creative works of today’s student artists.

Students recently submitted work and 43 OHHS Art and Design students were invited to be published in the Fall 2021 “Celebrating Art”!  Only the best art is selected to be included in the full-color hardbound art book, “Celebrating Art”. Additionally, final judging for “Top Ten Artist” and “High Merit Artist” awards will be completed and announced soon. The following students should feel honored. This is not a contest where every entry is invited to be published and is a highly selective competition. Thousands of entries were not invited to be published. Being published represents a lot of talent, hard work, and dedication from students.

Congratulations to the following students:

From Ambs’ Art Foundations, Graphic Art Foundations, and Ceramics classes:

Irem Bakici
Own Beuerlein
Lily Clark
Nadine Conteh
Scout Estes
Serenity Gray
Emma Mondary
Adrianna Russ
Adriana Schupp
Vixen Witt

From Dignan-Cummins’ Ceramics, Honors Enamels, Mosaic, and Glass, and Studio Art AP 3D Design classes:

Kaylin Bailey
Rachel Donskey
Riley Hobbs
Skylei James
Sophia Motz
Laurel Schiffmeyer
Carly Shiplett

From Kopf’s Digital Art Foundations and Painting and Mixed Media classes:

Emma Ballentine
Matthew Burg
Caden Cadle
Teagan Charles
Jason Nguyen
Elizabeth Savage
Eli Stone

From Schorsch’s Drawing and Printmaking, Art Foundations, and Studio Art AP 2D Design and Drawing classes: 

Anna Ackman
Dahlia Baer
Sydney Berting
Zachary Brooks
Anna Caito
Emery Charles
Elizabeth Clark
Ellie Cox
Kelsey Gallagher
John Gray
Henry Groh
Isabella Hart
Ashlynn Kleier
Flynn Koehler
Abby Linenkugel
Sophia Osborne
Anne Riley
Elisha Sebastian
Sarah Young