Once again, Cushing Academy artists are shining among the best young artists across the United States. At the end of January, eight of our visual arts students were recognized by the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards at the regional level, with five of those students earning Gold Key Awards, which merit automatic advancement to the national competition.
 

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in grades 7 through 12. This year, students submitted nearly 340,000 works of visual art and writing to the Awards; close to 90,000 works were recognized at the regional level and will be celebrated in local exhibitions. The top art and writing at the regional level will now go on to the national stage, and results will be announced on March 16, 2020. 

In 2019, more than 2,700 students earned National Medals. Cushing’s Simba Xu ’19 was a National Medalist, earning a Gold Medal along with his teacher, Visual Arts Chair Bob Johnson. They were celebrated at the National Ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City on June 6, 2019.

To earn recognition by the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is a remarkable achievement. A panel of creative professionals selects the most outstanding works among students’ peers, and since 1923, the Awards have recognized some of America’s most celebrated artists and writers as young adults, including Andy Warhol, Joyce Carol Oates, and Stephen King, among others.

Many of Cushing’s Scholastic award recipients have plans to focus on art in college. Currently, 15 students intend to submit art portfolios as part of the college admissions process, with five students applying to art schools and others applying to arts-focused liberal arts colleges.