Carnegie Hall Ceremony to Celebrate the Voices and Visions of Outstanding Young Artists and Writers From Across the Nation
Twelve hundred of the nation's most talented young artists and writers will be honored in New York City this week as recipients of The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards of 2005, a national program that offers early recognition of creative teenagers and scholarship opportunities for graduating high-school seniors. Since Scholastic founded the program in 1923, The Awards have honored distinguished past winners such as Richard Avedon, Andy Warhol, Robert Redford, Truman Capote, Sylvia Plath, Joyce Maynard, Joyce Carol Oates and Bernard Malamud, who received recognition when they were in high school. On Thursday, June 2, the Award Recipients of 2005 will be celebrated by actress, comedian and Emmy Award-winning talk show host Rosie O'Donnell, Tony-Award winning singer/actress Audra McDonald and writer Rodney Rothman during a ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards bring outstanding visual art and writing created by teenagers to a national audience by showcasing their remarkable work and encouraging their creative journey and career development. As part of the celebration, student artwork will be on public display at the Diane von Furstenberg Studio in New York City from June 2-4, 2005, before a larger exhibition travels to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., June 18-August 8, 2005. The young artists and writers will also participate in a special workshop series in New York City on Friday, June 3, which includes cultural and career seminars at professional institutions including Sotheby's, NBC News, The New York Public Library and at leading museums such as El Museo del Bario, the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Guggenheim Museum.
"For over eighty years, The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have honored the remarkable talent and potential of young artists and writers from around the country. We look forward to celebrating the accomplishments of The Award Recipients of 2005, and to broadening their horizons through the workshop series, giving them the confidence and encouragement to pursue careers in the arts," said BJ Adler, executive director of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.
Since the program's inception, more than 13 million of America's most talented junior high and high school students (grades 7-12) have participated in The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and 2.5 million have been recognized and shared in over $25 million in cash awards and college scholarships. This year, twelve high-school seniors from around the country were honored with the National Portfolio Gold Award, the highest level of achievement, and will each receive a $10,000 cash award. An additional $1.5 million in tuition scholarships is made available to National Portfolio Gold and National Portfolio Silver Awards recipients.
Each year, The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, administered by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, a not-for-profit organization, receive more than 250,000 works of art and writing, submitted through 90 regional affiliate programs across the nation for consideration in 25 categories of art and writing. The entries are evaluated locally and nationally by a panel of jurors comprised of renowned artists, authors, educators, and arts professionals. Notable past and current jurors include Robert Frost, Elizabeth Bishop, William Saroyan, Frank McCourt, Andy Rooney, Judy Blume, KiKi Smith, George Plimpton, and Philip Pearlstein.
About The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
M.R. Robinson, the founder of Scholastic Inc., established The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in 1923, and the Company continues to be the program's largest corporate sponsor. The Alliance brings outstanding visual art and writing created by teenagers to a national audience by showcasing their remarkable work and encouraging their creative journey and career development. In addition to awarding annual scholarships to top portfolio award recipients, the Alliance collaborates with colleges across the country that make an additional $1.5 million in financial aid available to award recipients with exceptional promise.
The Awards program and the work of the Alliance are made possible through the lead support of Scholastic. Generous leadership support is also provided by The Maurice R. Robinson Fund and The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Trust. Presenting Sponsors are The New York Times Company, Accenture, JPMorgan Chase, Command Web Offset and The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation.
For more information, log on to http://www.artandwriting.org/.
Source: Scholastic Inc.
CONTACT: Jennifer Slackman, Scholastic, +1-212-343-6427,
jslackman@scholastic.com, or Blayne Murphy, +1-212-343-6657,
blmurphy@scholastic.com, both of Scholastic
Web site: http://www.scholastic.com/
http://www.artandwriting.org/
NOTE TO EDITORS: To attend the events, speak with the students or request samples of student artwork, please contact: Jennifer Slackman, Scholastic, 212.343.6427, jslackman@scholastic.com, Blayne Murphy, Scholastic, 212.343.6657, blmurphy@scholastic.com