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Meet just a few of our Scholastic Award recepients from 2004! Top to bottom:
Elizabeth Golanski, Age 18, MI, Painting; Alicia Jones, Age 16, IN, Printmaking;
Matthew Sullivan, Age 18, HI, Sculpture
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The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards of 2005 are underway! From Anchorage,
Alaska, to Augusta, Maine, students have been stretching canvases and mixing paints,
editing short stories, developing photographs, revising their essays, firing up
the kilns, and searching for just the right words to complete their poems.
A nationwide promotional effort to encourage all eligible students to participate
began in September with a direct mail campaign of more than 100,000 informational
packets targeted to Art and English teachers. Advertisements in educational journals
announced the launch of the 2004-2005 program year and directed students and teachers
to the Alliance website at www.artandwriting.org where they can find not only program guidelines and entry forms, but also galleries
of student art and writing from 2004, 2003 and 2002 award recipients.
Other outreach efforts include presentations at teacher in-service sessions,
as well as regional and national arts organizations’ conferences and updated listings
in print and online scholarship directories.
Do you want to learn more about how to participate in The Scholastic Art &
Writing Awards? Click here, and be sure to visit our virtual gallery!
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ALUMNI PROFILE
Leslie Boamah —The Scholastic Art Awards of 1997
I understand the power of art: to tell a story, to make others pay attention,
to force them into action, and to help us heal. Now, as a member of the creative
work force, I also understand the power of art as it impacts our nation's economy,
culture and aesthetic.
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Leslie Boamah, Age 18, The Execution of My Dad, Award-recipient 1997
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“The Power of Art To Tell A Story”
Since his childhood in Africa, Leslie Boamah had been mystified by his father’s
sudden disappearance. It was only when he came to this country in 1994 to join
his mother, who had been living in the United States as a political refugee, that
Leslie learned his father had been executed because he was suspected of participating
in a coup against the Ghanian dictator, Jerry Rawlings. To deal with his loss,
Leslie’s mother urged him to turn to painting. The result was his award-winning
collection, “Things That Caused Me the Most Pain,” his father’s story in painted
imagery. “During a recent trip to Ghana, my testimony and paintings convinced
the government to exhume my father’s remains for proper burial.”
Career Path/Artistic Path
• Leslie Boamah has presented paintings to both President John Kuffour of Ghana
and Former First Lady Hillary Clinton.
• Over the past three years, he has been featured in a number of publications—Vibe, Essence, and XXL among them.
• He is currently designing a line of clothing and accessories “Peace Rocs,”
which will launch in 2005.
• Leslie is dedicating his clothing line in honor of his father, and also hoping
to reflect his desire for “unity within the community” with his designs.
Are YOU an alum of The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards? Tell us your story!
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ALUMNI NEWS
The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers wishes to acknowledge the life and
career of Richard Avedon (1923–2004) who won an award for poetry in 1941. At the time of his passing,
Avedon was working on a project on the election for The New Yorker Magazine. Avedon was honored at the 75th Anniversary of The Awards and featured on the 75th Anniversary video where he spoke eloquently on what the recognition meant to
him:
The defining moment in my life was when I was seventeen and was honored by Scholastic.
Being recognized by Scholastic meant that little pat on the back, that little
sense of confidence that made me feel the doors were opening, and I could enter
a life that I loved, and I had somebody behind me saying "This is OK."
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Julie Jorgensen, school librarian, introducing The Awards to Cape Girardeau Central
High School, Missouri.
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THE ALLIANCE IN THE FIELD
The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers often visits regional affiliates
as well as representing our work in the arts education arena as a national advocacy
leader. We travel the country on behalf of the next generation of artists and
writers!
• In September, Executive Director, B.J. Adler, visited her alma mater, Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to discuss The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards with students and faculty.
She met with English, Art and Gifted and Talented staff members and presented
a workshop for 75 AP English and Creative Writing students.
• Chuck Wentzel, Associate Director, presented The Scholastic Art Awards, with a special focus on painting and drawing,
to 160 secondary art teachers in Fairfax, Virginia.
• Alex Tapnio, Program Manager, presented the program to teachers at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City.
• In October, BJ Adler and Chuck Wentzel presented three sessions at the Arts Education Partnership meeting in Philadelphia on using the adjudication process of The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
as professional development for teachers and teaching artists.
• Chuck Wentzel presented to art teachers in Montgomery, Alabama, welcoming the state as a new regional affiliate to The Scholastic Art Awards.
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Hispanic Heritage Month on display at Scholastic Inc., corporate headquarters, in
NYC
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ON DISPLAY
Visit the Alliance website www.artandwriting.org to check out the virtual gallery of national award recipients from 2004. Additional
showcase venues for award recipients from 2004 include:
• Exhibition at The President’s Committee on The Arts and The Humanities, Washington, DC, on loan through July of 2005.
• Exhibition of 18 works at the Department of Education in Washington, DC, on loan through July of 2005.
• Special exhibition of selected art and writing honoring Hispanic Heritage Month was
on display at Scholastic Inc. corporate headquarters, in New York City, September 15 – October 15, 2004.
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• laveideM, by Jennifer McFann, released in November 2004 by Scholastic Inc. Jennifer is
the first award recipient of The Scholastic Writing Awards novel category. Recipients
of the Novel Gold Award work with a professional editor to complete their manuscript,
with the possibility of publication.
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• Middle school (grades 7, 8, 9) artwork featured in Scholastic Bookfairs marketing campaign for fall 2004 in the United States and the United Kingdom.
• The second annual anthology, THE BEST TEEN WRITING OF 2004, was released in November to coincide with the National Council of Teachers of
English national conference. Edited by Sara Saylor, who was a Writing Portfolio
Gold Award recipient in 2003, the anthology includes an opening essay from Joyce
Carol Oates, acclaimed author and alumna of The Awards, and an acknowledgement
of English teachers by NCTE, Executive Director, Kent Williamson.
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PARTNERSHIPS AND GRANTS
The National Endowment for the Arts has awarded the Alliance for Young Artists
& Writers a Learning in the Arts grant of $15,000 for program administration of The Awards for the 2004–2005
program year. From a highly competitive applicant pool of 807, only 238 were
funded, and the Alliance was one of them!
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Program
Goals
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Identify and celebrate the nation's most creative teenagers
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Enrich their creative journey
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Connect students and teachers with resources supporting
creating development
Alliance
for Young Artists & Writers
557 Broadway | New York, New York 10012
212-343-6493 tele | 212-389-3939 fax | www.artandwriting.org |
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