The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers announced that 18 APS students have received recognition in the National Scholastics Art and Writing Competition.

This year, over 333,000 works were submitted to the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers and only 3,300 pieces were awarded nationally. Regional competitions award Gold and Silver Keys as well as Honorable Mentions. Gold Keys are sent on to the national level for competition.

This year’s Arlington Public Schools national award recipients are:

Art Awards – Gold Medalist

• Gunston Middle School 8th grader Lina Barclay: The Bracelet (Film & Animation)
• H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program junior Cole Goco: Bustle (Drawing and Illustration)

Art Awards – American Visions Medal

• Washington-Lee High School junior Sirena Pearl: Shower (Drawing and Illustration)

Art Awards – Portfolio Silver Medalist with Distinction

• Wakefield High School senior Ena Robertson: Small Town Colorado (Art Portfolio)

Art Awards – Portfolio Silver Medalist

• Wakefield High School senior Grace Peterson: Quiet Life (Art Portfolio)

Art Awards – Silver Medalist

• Yorktown High School junior Konika Akter: Golden Decay (Ceramics & Glass)
• Yorktown High School senior Grace Allen: Black Drip (Ceramics & Glass)
• Yorktown High School senior Emily Brooks: Birds Flying Away (Ceramics & Glass)
• H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program junior Karina de Leede: Blood Money (Editorial Cartoon sponsored by The Herb Block Foundation)
• Kenmore Middle School 8th grader Emily Engelken: Ocean’s Prism (Architecture & Industrial Design)
• Washington-Lee High School junior Ashlyn Graham: Aisle 3 (Photography)
• Swanson Middle School 8th grader Maaru Higuchi: My Freedom, My Piano (Drawing and Illustration)
• H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program senior Ella Juengst: Sunday Morning (Painting)
• Wakefield High School junior Matthew Medrano: Arlington Remembered (Digital Art)
• H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program freshman Natalie Moreno: Queen (Comic Art)
• Swanson Middle School 8th grader Sebastian Olmsted: La Strada (Drawing and Illustration)

Writing Awards – Silver Medalist

• H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program sophomore Owen Cullen: Lovecraftian Logistics (Dramatic Script)
• H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program 8th grader Isabel Lloyd: The Golden Thread (Science Fiction & Fantasy)

The program, currently in its 95th year, is a national program recognizing outstanding creativity in teens and offers scholarship opportunities for graduating high school seniors. Teens in grades 7-12 can apply in 29 categories of art and writing for the chance to earn scholarships and have their works exhibited or published.

The national non-profit organization that presents the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards will honor students on Thu, June 7, at a gala celebration at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Selected award recipients and high school seniors recognized with top honors will have their art exhibited at Parsons The New School for Design in New York. Selections from The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are published in the National Catalog, Best Teen Writing, and Spark (anthology of work by middle school students), which are distributed free of charge to schools and libraries nationwide.

For more information, contact the Allison Gilbert in the Arts Education Office at 703-228-6299 (Art Awards) or the English Language Arts Office at 703-228-8045 (Writing Awards).