Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Announces 2024 Class of National Teen Medalists

Painter and multidisciplinary artist José Parlá honored as this year's Alumni Achievement Award recipient during the June 12^th Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Benefit Dinner 

Lindenmeyr Book Publishing Papers recognized with the 2024 Alliance for Young Artists & Writers' Leadership Award

NEW YORK, June 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers announced the 101st class of National Medalists in the 2024 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the nation's longest-running and most prestigious scholarship and recognition program for young artists and writers in grades 7-12. This year, more than 110,000 teens from U.S. territories, Canada, and every state in the nation earned national recognition for their art and writing, joining the ranks of esteemed Awards alumni including Tschabalala Self, Stephen King, Kay WalkingStick, Amanda Gorman, Charles White, Joyce Carol Oates, Andy Warhol, and more.

Among the nearly 10,000 portfolios that were entered for adjudication this year, 16 portfolios earned the program's highest honor, the Gold Medal Portfolio Award, which includes a $12,500 scholarship. Educators of the 16 Gold Medal Portfolio Award recipients will receive $1,000 awards. These Gold Medal Portfolio Award recipients, alongside this year's National Medalists, will be honored at a virtual celebration hosted on Wednesday, June 26. 

The 2024 Gold Medal Portfolio Award winners are:

Gold Portfolios Art:

• • Scarlett Cai, Princeton, NJ
  • Avery Davis-Fehr, Eden Prairie, NM
  • Ashlin Kwong, La Grange, IL
  • Jada McAliley, Towson, MD
  • August Moon, Alexandria, VA
  • Lia Musser, Arlington, VA
  • Brenna Rusk, Grand Prairie, TX
  • Walter Sanmartin, Miami, FL
  • Beverly Zheng, Alpharetta, GA

Gold Portfolios Writing:

• • Celina Bagchi, Fort Washington, PA
  • Diemmy Dang, Pottstown, PA
  • Aina Marzia, El Paso, TX
  • Isa Nava, San Antonio, TX
  • Adiyah Parham, Baltimore, MD
  • Addison Rahmlow, Slinger, WI
  • Kashvi Ramani, Andover, MA

In celebration of the Awards' second century medalists, the Alliance—the nonprofit that administers the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards—hosted its 2024 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Benefit Dinner at the Ziegfield Ballroom in New York City yesterday, June 12. Co-chairs of this annual fundraising event included artist and Scholastic Art & Writing Awards alumnus Derek Fordjour and his wife, Alexis Hoag-Fordjour, and Sasha Quinton, President, School Reading Events at Scholastic. The event featured poetry readings by 2023 National Student Poets Miles Hardingwood and Gabriella Miranda, as well as a performance by musical guest China Forbes, lead singer and songwriter of Pink Martini and a 1987 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards recipient.

At this year's Benefit Dinner, painter and multidisciplinary artist José Parlá was honored as the 2024 Alumni Achievement Award recipient. This annual accolade is given to esteemed alumni whose innovative careers have influenced their industries and who credit their Scholastic Art & Writing Award as a pivotal moment in their teenage years, providing confidence and encouragement to explore their creative pursuits.

A 1989 Scholastic Art & Writing Award recipient for art, José Parlá creates paintings and multidisciplinary works based on his interest in hybrid forms of abstraction that visually translate urban life. Drawing inspiration from various mediums, such as calligraphy, music, dance, deteriorated walls, torn and weathered advertisements, and photography, his works poetically challenge ideas about language, politics, identity, and how we define places and spaces.

Over the years, Parlá has received numerous awards and honors for his work, including a Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship; Hirshhorn Museum Artist x Artist honoree; National Young Arts Foundation Award; Americans for the Arts' National Art Award and Public Art Network Award; MDC Alumni Hall of Fame inductee; Brooklyn Arts Council honoree; Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, Grand Prize; and Best Documentary Short and Best U.S. Premiere, Heartland Film Festival, for Wrinkles of the City: La Havana. He has also exhibited extensively in solo and group exhibitions throughout the world.

José Parlá shared, "I am deeply honored to receive the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Alumni Achievement Award at a time in my life that is bringing many wonderful things full circle. When I first received the Scholastic Art Award in 1989, it created visibility for my young talent and opened up opportunities for full scholarships to study art, which was life-changing. I was able to receive the award in Miami thanks to my high school art teacher, Ms. Motta, who entered me into the awards competition. Her foresight and the dedication of teachers like her are crucial because educators do more than just assign work; their care and passion stem from a desire to make the world a better place.

I say full circle because, after exhibiting my work around the world and surviving a near-death experience a couple of years ago, I am now opening a solo show in my hometown of Miami at the Perez Art Museum Miami. I offer a heartfelt thank you to my family and friends present and to the arts community for all the support. I wish every young artist great success in all the years ahead and best of luck through difficult and wonderful experiences in the future."

Christopher Wisniewski, Executive Director of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, shared: "The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have always strived to recognize the creative potential of our nation's young artists and writers by providing them with a platform to explore and experiment, and it has been incredible to see how this year's class of National Medalists has articulated their creative visions in such intriguing and novel ways. As we ring in this new century of the Awards, we at the Alliance are honored to celebrate the program's enduring legacy and influence, and the many visionaries that comprise our esteemed list of alumni, including this year's Alumni Achievement Award recipient José Parlá, whom we were so pleased to recognize during yesterday evening's Benefit Dinner."  

The Alliance also honored Lindenmeyr Book Publishing Papers, its long-term partner and the Next Century Sponsor of this year's benefit dinner, with the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers' Leadership Award. A Scholastic Art & Writing Awards donor for over two decades, Lindenmeyr has been dedicated to helping its clients find the right paper for any book publishing project since 1859. Knowing that reading can transform us in so many ways, they are passionate advocates of reading and writing, of libraries and bookstores, and of literacy programs.

In addition to the 28 eligible Awards categories—including Painting, Flash Fiction, Editorial Cartoon, Poetry, Photography, Science Fiction & Fantasy, and more—students can also enter their work for a variety of sponsored award scholarships. The 2024 Sponsored Awards include:

• The Herblock Award for Editorial Cartoon: Underwritten by The Herb Block Foundation, the Editorial Cartoon category and Herblock Award celebrate the legacy of four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Herb Block and his remarkable contribution to American history and free expression. The three teen artists receive $2,000 scholarships for their outstanding drawings, illustrations, or animations offering commentary on current events or political topics, and their educators receive $500. This year's recipients are: Anastasia Kondratenko Kensington, MD; Charlie Sailor, Mishawaka, IN; and Paula Schechter, Weston, MA.
• New York Life Award: Underwritten by the New York Life Foundation, this award recognizes ten students with $2,500 scholarships for their work exploring personal grief, loss, and bereavement, and their educators receive $500 awards. This year's recipients are: Alfarah Albayati, Skokie, IL; Madelyn Arnold, Denver, CO; Tenzing Carvalho, Hemet, CA; Isadora Eden Davis, Pittsburgh, PA; Rahul Goyal, Clarksville, MD; Nora Gupta, Bronx, NY; Angel Huang, Houston, TX; Casey Johnson, Centreville, MD; Keira Johnston, Goshen, IN; and Quill Thompson, Cleveland, OH. 
• Additional awards and scholarships for students are made possible through the support of The Maurice R. Robinson Fund, Command Companies and the Merson Family, Quad and The Windhover Foundation, Dav and Sayuri Pilkey, BLICK Art Materials, Arison Arts Foundation, Lindenmeyr Book Publishing Papers, Jay Pritzker Foundation, Jill and Peter Kraus, Derek Fordjour and Alexis Hoag-Fordjour, GV Group, and The New York Times, among others.

To learn more, and to find a complete list of the 2024 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards national medalists, visit: artandwriting.org. 

About the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards  
Founded in 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are presented by the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, and are made possible through the generosity of Scholastic Inc., BLICK Art Materials, New York Life Foundation, The Maurice R. Robinson Fund, Command Companies, The Herb Block Foundation, Lindenmeyr Book Publishing Papers, Quad, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Bloomberg Philanthropies, National Endowment for the Arts, The New York Times, and numerous other individual, foundation, and corporate funders; and, for the National Student Poets Program, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, The Hearthland Foundation, and Academy of American Poets.

For more information about the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, visit artandwriting.org. Additional details about the Awards can be found in the Scholastic media room: http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/artandwriting.

SOURCE Alliance for Young Artists & Writers