These Teens Could Be the Next Andy Warhol, Stephen King, Lena Dunham or Zac Posen

NEW YORK, June 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- New York City will be brimming with young, fresh talent beginning June 5 when the National Celebration series of events kicks off to honor the winners of the 2014 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the country's longest-running and most prestigious scholarship and recognition program for creative students in grades 7–12. These students walk in the footsteps of creative greats such as Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, Richard Avedon and Sylvia Plath, all of whom won Scholastic Awards when they were teens. More recently, Stephen King, Myla Goldberg, Zac Posen and Lena Dunham have become celebrated alumni of the program. The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the nonprofit presenter of the Scholastic Awards, expects to welcome more than 800 students with their families and teachers, representing a total of 47 states, over the course of four days.

To learn more about the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and the National Celebration, visit http://www.artandwriting.org.

Quotes about the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards:

Nick Cannon, entertainer and guest speaker at the program's annual Carnegie Hall ceremony, said, "It is important for kids today to have the freedom to express themselves and build confidence. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards empower students, giving them an outlet to show their passion for the arts and grow their individual talent. As a creative professional myself, I am inspired by each and every one of these students."

Kay WalkingStick, renowned artist, 1947 Scholastic Art & Writing Award winner and 2014 Alumni Achievement Award Recipient, shared, "The memory of winning a Scholastic Art & Writing Award as a teenager is one I have drawn upon throughout my career as an artist. A creative path is one of hills and valleys and having that reassurance early on added to my strength to see through any challenges to persevere and evolve. I hope each student who wins remembers and cherishes the moment no matter what they choose to be in their careers."

Virginia McEnerney, Executive Director of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers noted, "The 2014 Scholastic Art & Writing Award winners have once again blown us away with their talent and vision. There is so much promise in the room when we have them gathered together in New York City. We know we are meeting tomorrow's leaders and problem-solvers, so while they are here, we are honored to celebrate their creativity, treat them as professionals by displaying their work and encourage them to share their talent and learn from each other."

The 2014 National Celebration calendar of festivities includes:

• June 5 – The First-Ever Maker Prom: The Roosevelt Hotel will be transformed for this teen-only event that will mix dancing with interactive stations in line with the Maker Movement. Co-presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers and Hive NYC, attendees will have the option to participate in fun activities such as creating sonic portraits and wearable tech at stations presented by World Up and Eyebeam, respectively.
• June 5 – June 14, Art.Write.Now. 2014 National Exhibition: More than 500 student works of art and writing will be professionally displayed at Parsons The New School for Design's Sheila C. Johnson Design Center and Pratt Manhattan Gallery beginning June 5. The free exhibit is open to the public and will feature rich programming, including the Saturday Student Showcase on June 7, complete with student readings, art presentations, film screenings and workshops. For location details and hours, visit http://www.artandwriting.org/student-showcase/art-write-now-2014-national-exhibition.
• June 6 – Awards Ceremony at the World-Famous Carnegie Hall: At the marquee event of the weekend, Nick Cannon will congratulate the winners and encourage them to continue in their creative paths, Emmy® Award–winning actor David Strathairn will read original poems written by the 2014 National Student Poets and Kay WalkingStick will receive the program's Alumni Achievement Award. All graduating high school seniors will also take the stage for a bow, including the Portfolio Gold Medalists, the program's highest honor, which includes a $10,000 scholarship for 16 graduating seniors. The ceremony can be viewed via live webcast on June 6^th at 6:00pm ET and on replay at http://www.artandwriting.org/carnegiewebcast2014.
• June 6 – Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Benefit: This annual fundraising event will reflect on the 91st year of the program and the generosity of its benefactors. It will further honor student work while highlighting the importance of identifying exceptional creative teens and bringing their work to a national audience. The event will take place at The Edison Ballroom following the Carnegie Hall ceremony.

Students will also be surprised by additional acknowledgements of their achievement embedded in New York City's landscape:

• June – A Gold Medal–winning photograph by Steven Paul, a high school senior from Brooklyn, will be painted on a larger than life scale on the side of a building. Expected to be completed on June 4, the painting will be on display at 111 Broadway on the corner of Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn thanks to a partnership between the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers and Colossal Media, an industry leader in hand-painted outdoor advertising and large painted murals.
• June 6 – Two giant Times Square screens at 1515 Broadway will promote the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards every two minutes throughout the day, thanks to support from Viacom.
• June 6 – The iconic Empire State Building will shine its tower lights in gold to honor the talent of all national Award winners.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards by the Numbers:

• 1923, the program's founding year
• 3 criteria for blind adjudication: originality, technical skill and the emergence of a personal vision or voice
• 28 categories, including flash fiction, comic art, poetry, jewelry, science fiction and fantasy, sculpture, novel writing, and video game design
• More than 100 Affiliates of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers bring the Scholastic Awards to local communities
• 255,000+ submissions received during the 2014 program year in all categories
• Nearly 70,000 students were recognized on the regional level; more than 16,000 received Gold Keys to advance to national adjudication
• 145 industry experts served as 2014 national jurors, including Wangechi Mutu (artist), Andres Serrano (artist), Edwidge Danticat (writer), Michael Raisler (producer), Kay WalkingStick (artist), Jane Cohan (gallery owner), David Krasnow ("Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen"), Alison Elizabeth Taylor (artist) and Stephen Savage (illustrator)
• More than 1,800 students received national honors
• 5 students in grades 9–11 are selected annually to serve as literary ambassadors as part of the National Student Poets Program, the nation's highest honor for young poets presenting original work. Winning a Scholastic Art & Writing Award National Medal in poetry is the exclusive pathway to this honor, which is presented in partnership by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Alliance
• $10 million in scholarships is set aside specifically for Scholastic Award–winning high school seniors to apply for at more than 60 colleges and universities who have partnered with the Alliance
• More than one million original works have been submitted and over $40 million has been made available in scholarships and awards to top winning students over the past five years alone

The Alliance is grateful for its generous sponsors, who provide funds to support and produce the Awards: Scholastic Inc., The Maurice R. Robinson Fund, Command Web Offset Co., the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, The New York Times, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, The National Endowment for the Arts, Blick Art Materials & Utrecht Art Supplies, 3D Systems, The Gedenk Movement, Golden Artist Colors, Bloomberg L.P., the Bernstein Family Foundation, Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation, Colossal Media, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Duck Tape® and additional contributions from numerous other individual, foundation and corporate funders. The National Exhibition and accompanying programs are co-sponsored by the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center / Parsons The New School for Design, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and A Mad Idea Foundation. Special thanks to Pratt Institute for hosting a portion of the exhibition at Pratt Manhattan Gallery.

A complete list of national Scholastic Art & Writing Award winners is available here. Additional details about the Awards can be found in the Scholastic Media Room: mediaroom.scholastic.com/artandwriting.

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SOURCE Scholastic Inc.