More than 200 literary and visual artworks by seventh-to-12th grade students from across the country were showcased at Pratt Manhattan Gallery in Art.Write.Now.2019. Each was made by a recipient of a 2019 Scholastic Art & Writing Award. Founded in 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the country’s longest-running scholarship and recognition program aimed at creative teens. The exhibition at Pratt, held from June 1 to 8, was joined by an installation at the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at Parsons School of Design at the New School.
On June 7, Pratt Manhattan Gallery hosted a celebration that began with welcoming remarks from Pratt Institute President Frances Bronet and a breakfast attended by high school art teachers from around the United States who taught students who won awards. The day also featured a virtual reality design workshop for the award-winning students led by Pratt Professor David Marcinkowski, as well as a reading by the National Writing Medalists. The exhibition space hummed with faculty, students, families and other visitors viewing the work on display.
For nearly a century, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have recognized the creative promise of emerging artists and writers such as Richard Avedon, Ken Burns, Lena Dunham, Joyce Carol Oates, and Andy Warhol, as well as Pratt alumni Robert Redford and Kay WalkingStick.
The awards are administered annually by the nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. This year 340,000 works of art and writing were submitted by students in every state. Of those, over 2,700 students were recognized with awards. They were considered in 29 award categories, with those featured at Pratt Manhattan Gallery including design, digital art, drawing and illustration, printmaking, mixed media, architecture and industrial design, and jewelry. Pratt’s collaboration with the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is facilitated by Associate Degree Programs Professor Mark O’Grady with Exhibitions Director Nick Battis and Assistant Director Kirsten Nelson.
Alongside the exhibition, Scholastic held a ceremony for the awardees on June 6 at Carnegie Hall.
Images: Art.Write.Now.2019 student work; Work by Silver Medal with Distinction winner Mackenzie Wright; Work by Gold Medal winner Madeline Farrer