About The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

A program of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, Inc.

The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, a non-profit organization, is a national program that nurtures artistic talent among students in grades 7-12 by recognizing and rewarding their achievements in the visual and literary arts through the administration of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. This awards program is the largest and longest-running recognition program for creative young people in this country. The awards were launched in 1923 by Scholastic, Inc., the global children's publishing and media company, to encourage, foster and reward creativity in our nation's classrooms. Each year, the Awards reach more than 12 million students in public, private and parochial schools in the United States and Canada, generating more than 250,000 entries in 25 different categories of the visual and literary arts. Varied classifications in the visual arts include the fields of painting, drawing, printmaking, design, three-dimensional art, photography, mixed media, video, film & animation, environmental design and computer graphics.

Regional exhibitions give the students the opportunity for local recognition. Last year, participating schools from Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Lapeer, and St Clair Counties combined submitted over 6000 pieces of artwork for consideration in two separate exhibits. Regional awards include Certificates of Merit, Silver Key and Gold Key winners. Gold Key winning artwork nominated from each region across the country is forwarded to New York for national judging. Fifteen thousand pieces from 80 regions compete for national honors. Top winning Art portfolios and Photography portfolios from each region are sent on to compete for national scholarships. National honors include National Gold Awards, National Silver Awards, National Scholarships, and cash awards. The National Gold Award winners are invited to New York City where they are honored at a ceremony at Carnegie Hall.