Tag Archives: poetry

2025 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Winners!

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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. 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 and 2025 is another record year with 4 Art Portfolios, 1 American Visions Nominee, 12 Gold Keys, 12 Silver Keys, 29 Honorable Mentions, and 3 Honorable Mentions for Writing! Congratulations to these very talented OHHS Art and Design students on their accomplishments this year in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.

Art Portfolio

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. 

“The Resonance of Reality”
Molly Audretch
Honorable Mention

“Breaking Through”
Lizzie Schreibeis
Honorable Mention

“Not So Different”
Grace Gray
Gold Key

“Nostalgia and Connection”
Anne Riley
Honorable Mention

American Visions Award Nominee

Each regional program will nominate five teens for the American Voices Award or American Visions Award. Nominees must have a Gold Key work with an original, authentic voice or vision. National jurors will select one nominee from each region for the American Voices or Visions Award.

Grace Gray, “On a Journey”, Gold Key

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.

Molly Audretch, “Catharsis”
Molly Audretch, “Fertile Grounds”
Molly Audretch, “Fight or Flight: An Allegory for War”
Molly Audretch, “Saying Goodbye”
Grace Gray, “Always a Bigger Fish”
Grace Gray, “Feasting”
Grace Gray, “Finding Peace”
Baylee Moorman, “The Spirit Within”
Sydney Overbay, “Pink Pinstripe Matching Set”
Sydney Overbay and Erin Pessler, “Recycled Wear”
Lydia Wilson, “Messy Morning”

Silver Key Winners

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

Bethany Bachman, “A Room with a View”
Grace Gray, “Happy Place”
Austin Haarmeyer, “Mirroring”
Maggie Heydorn, “Functional Fungi”
Kendalyn Kress, “A Little Grizzly”
Kendalyn Kress, “Game Day”
Jackson Mundstock, “Reflecting on Reflections”
Lizzie Schreibeis, “Verloren in der Musik”
Aurora Studenka, “Honeymoon”
Jordan Tinsley, “Spiraling Out”
Claire Walsh, “Tangled”
Sophia Wehman, “A Tension Like Stone”

Honorable Mentions

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

Bethany Bachman, “Oh, Deer”
Emma Brunner, “Voices Past”
Miles Frisch, “Blinding Possibilities”
Aubree Fuson, “Chromatic Remains”
Aubree Fuson, “Wonder”
Austin Haarmeyer, “Searchlight”
Gladys Lopez Felix, “Daily Rituals”
Lily McGuire, “In Tune”
Lily McGuire, “Melody of the Soul”
Emma Mondary, “Coil Vase”
Emma Mondary, “Galaxy Tea Set”
Emma Mondary, “Prowler”
Baylee Moorman, “Optimism”
Jackson Mundstock, “The Wooden Tightrope”
Jackson Mundstock, “Wrinkholes”
Sydney Overbay, “Farmers Market Tote Bag”
Sydney Overbay, “Pink Gingham Trapeze Mini Dress”
Ella Rizzo, “Making Your Mark”
Ella Rizzo, “Simpler Times”
Adrianna Russ, “Daily Beauty Ritual”
Lizzie Schreibeis, “Making it Up”
Lizzie Schreibeis “The Light and the Dark”
Katie Stevens, “Color me Crazy”
Aurora Studenka, “Love at First Site”
Sophia Wehman, “Conserving”
Sophia Wehman, “The Glow Within”
Olivia Widener, “Purrfect Day”
Lydia Wilson, “Rock and a Hard Place”
Rachel Wunderlich, “Time to Run”

Scholastic Writing Awards

“Mother Nature’s Wrath”
Poetry
Molly Audretch
Honorable Mention

“What Have We Become?”
Poetry
Molly Audretch
Honorable Mention

“Improving Relationships Between U.S. Law Enforcement and Black Citizens”
Critical Essay
Veda Ratcliff
Honorable Mention


An Exhibition of the award winning works will take place at the Art Academy of Cincinnati from February 7 – February 16, 2025 with an Opening Reception scheduled for Friday, February 7, 2025 5pm-8pm.

Congratulations to Scholastic Art Awards National Medalists Grace Gray and Sophia Wehman!

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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.

More than 100,000 students submitted more than 330,000 works of art and writing to the 2024 Scholastic Awards. Gold Key Regional winners compete on the National level for Medalist Awards. Grace and Sophia’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!

Grace Gray’s (11) piece, “Hug Me”, was awarded a Silver Medal, and Sophia Wehman’s piece (10), “Overflow”, earned a Silver Medal.

Grace Gray “Hug Me”
Sophia Wehman “Overflow”

An awards ceremony for National Medalists will take place at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Congratulations to our Scholastic Art Awards National Medalists!

OHHS Art and Design Student to Exhibit in Just Earth – Cincinnati Exhibition

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Just Earth – Cincinnati, in collaboration with new and longtime partners, aims to educate and facilitate action among residents of the Cincinnati region to address the intersecting crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental injustice. The Just Earth Visual Art Competition, open to 2 categories of artists (18 and under, and 19 and over) called for submissions that expressed warnings for the future, images of celebration, images depicting regret or loss, or pieces of art depicting hope and exaltation over a healthy world and all of life’s cycles. Submissions will be judged by a committee of local artist and art educators and prizes will be awarded for 1st ($500); 2nd ($250); and 3rd ($100) place.

Jackson Mundstock, a student in Ms. Schorsch’s Drawing and Printmaking class, recently submitted this amazing piece and statement for the Call for Visual Art Entries!

ARTIST STATEMENT
“Stroll in the Acid Rain”
Mixed Media

While depicting the beauty of nature and wonders of our planet is great and all, I find showing the dangers and threats posed upon our environments more important, because if awareness of those threats is not spread and made known, no action can be taken against them, and the ability to celebrate the beauty of our planet will be but a distant memory. With this piece, I wanted to show off a threat that is more personal to regions like our own, and especially regions surrounding ours; acid rain. This piece depicts how acid rain is formed in the sky from fossil fuel burnings, but also its effects and the danger it poses to our environment, as well as the equally problematic and more worldwide issue of smog clouds looming over our society. I made the bottom third nearly completely coated in darkness, symbolically showing the dark nature and effects of acid rain, but also showing how the polluted smog clouds born from smokestacks and fossil fuels can leave us in darkness down on the ground as the air and rain gets worse and worse. On the trees, I made it so the leaves begin luscious and green at the bottom, but slowly become more brown and dead as the tree goes up, to show how acid rain kills off and destroys trees from the ground up. On the top half, I wanted the factory and smoke clouds to loom overhead as the person walks by, showing how we are powerless to the destruction of our skies and ecosystems if we don’t stand up and do something, as well as showing the source of acid rain. Of course, this piece is a bit exaggerated, as while acid rain is certainly deadly to the environment, it’s not deadly enough to literally melt the ground below us in acid puddles. However, the intent is merely to show the viewer that acid rain is dangerous and threatening, anyway, and that if we don’t take care of it, environments in regions around the world affected by acid rain will cease to exist, just like how it is shown here.

Pieces will be assembled into a curated show at The Annex Art Gallery @ The Pendleton Art Center, 1501 Republic St. Cincinnati, OH, on April 26th, 2024.