A few weeks ago, Kinkaid Upper School visual art students received Gold and Silver Keys and Honorable Mention awards in the Regional Scholastic Art Awards competition. Two of those students have now been awarded Gold Medals at the National Scholastic Art Awards competition in New York: Ruth (Tory) Smith for Painting (Mixed Media) and Amy Drews for Printmaking (Intaglio). Please congratulate Tory and Amy for their outstanding achievement, an honor placing them among the most promising and creative young artists in the nation. Congratulations are also in order for Upper School art teacher Diane Marks, who has taught Tory for the past three years and Amy for the past two.
This program year, a record-breaking 255,000+ works of art and writing were submitted to more than 100 affiliates of the Alliance for regional adjudication. From the excellent pool of regional Gold Key recipients, an impressive panel of creative-industry experts chose more than 1,800 of the most talented students—representing 47 U.S. states as well as students in Washington, D.C. and American schools abroad—to receive national medals.
On June 6, 2014, students will be honored during a special awards ceremony webcast live from the world-famous Carnegie Hall. To celebrate the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards’ national winners, the Alliance will kick off this year’s National Celebration in New York City on June 5, 2014. The celebration will include the first annual Maker Prom—a party with interactive art-making stations—at the Roosevelt Hotel, as well as the grand opening of the "Art.Write.Now." National Exhibition, a large selection of Award-winning art and writing that will be on display at Parsons The New School for Design and the Pratt Manhattan Gallery. Following the ceremony, the annual Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Benefit will take place at The Edison Ballroom, and to further amplify the festivities that evening, the iconic Empire State Building will be lit in gold.