Scholastic Awards winners from the 1920s!
While this year’s Gold and Silver Medals (and Keys!) are still shiny, and the artists and writers who earned them float on cloud nine, we can be sure of one enduring fact: the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have delivered this kind of validation to creative teens for 90 amazing years! To celebrate this milestone, we dug into our vast archives and turned to esteemed colleague Bryan Doerries to tell the story that started in 1923 with just 7 submissions and is now the largest, most prestigious awards program in the U.S. Here’s a sneak peek at The Great Encouragement with Bryan as your guide!
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We recently had the chance to catch up with Scholastic Awards alum Ned Vizzini and talk to him about his upcoming book, House of Secrets, (coming out April 23) which he wrote together with director Chris Columbus who began the Harry Potter film series! It’s the first novel in their exciting fantasy trilogy. Check out what he had to say about it below and take a peek at the artwork inside the book! You’ll also find some helpful advice for young writers at the end of our interview.
SA: What is House of Secrets about? And, what makes this story epic?
NV: House of Secrets is about three kids – the Walkers – who move to a creepy old house in San Francisco that used to be owned by an even creepier writer: Denver Kristoff. Kristoff is like an H. P. Lovecraft cult figure who wrote pulp tales of pirates and warriors and dark magic. When the Walkers anger the wrong person in their new home, they get banished into the world of Kristoff’s books, where all his mad creations come to life!
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Red Grooms has always found inspiration in the circus
Guest post by Katie Brickner, Senior Editor of Scholastic Art Magazine
Red Grooms received a Scholastic Art & Writing Award in 1952, when he was a freshman in high school, for a colored pencil drawing of the circus. In October, I had the privilege of interviewing Grooms in his studio in New York City for Scholastic Art.
Red Grooms is one of those artists whose name appears in the history books. His legendary installation, Ruckus Manhattan, now packed away in storage, lives on in the hearts and memories of those who experienced it in person. Grooms called the work, which he constructed with a team of more than 20 artists, “a journey through a sculpture.” In 1976 more than 150,000 people experienced that journey. Now at 75, the art Grooms is making is on a smaller scale, but he is still working and regularly shows his art.
Grooms still works in the same studio he found when he moved to New York City in the 1950s. Visiting the space where Grooms conceived of Ruckus Manhattan, and other iconic works, was surreal. The walls of the outer sitting room display Groom’s personal art collection in salon style, with art of all shapes and sizes hanging from floor to ceiling. It is fascinating to see the artists who influence and inspire him. Read More
Figure + Square by Joseph Parra. Screen print and digital print. 29 x 40.
Scholastic Awards alum Joseph Parra knew at an early age that he wanted to be involved in the art world. In 2007, Joseph won the American Visions Medal. A few months after receiving a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, he was chosen as 1 of 3 alums to participate in the Alliance’s 2012 Atelier Artists-in-Residency program – and the youngest one of them too! If that’s not enough, his work will be featured in two shows this month: at the Adah Rose Gallery on January 12 and the Current Space Gallery on January 18. Here’s his backstory!
When did you first become interested in art? I went to an art middle school and high school, so I’ve always been making art. I decided in high school that I wanted to become an artist, so going to an art college was the only answer for me. Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It was there that I started to focus more on the importance of process, and to choose one that best fulfills the concept of a piece. Read More
Due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy, the Alliance’s Atelier artists-in-residency studio has moved to the Winter Garden at the World Financial Center (220 Vesey Street). Step inside the new studio on Wednesday, December 19 from 12pm – 5pm, and see what’s been created in this year’s residency by our three Atelier artists: Andrea Burgay, Kyle James Dunn, and Joseph Parra. Each participant is a past Scholastic Art & Writing Awards winner, and follows in the footsteps of other alumni like Andy Warhol, Richard Avedon, John Baldessari, Cy Twombly, Mel Bochner, Tom Otterness, and Erik Madigan Heck (just to name a few!). These three artists represent some of the most promising emerging young artists around, and we feel very lucky to have them in our program.
Learn more about them here. And, to see some examples of their work, visit our Flickr page. Have a question for the artists? Tweet @artandwriting using the hashtag #AWatelier. Read More
Tonight, from 6pm to 8pm, is the opening of Scholastic Awards alum Winston Chmielinski‘s first solo show in New York City, Ecstatic Skin. And, we’re super excited about it!
In 2011, Winston was selected to create new works of art in the Alliance’s first artists-in-residency program, the Atelier. The program ran from October thru December, and provided five up-and-coming artists (all past Scholastic Awards winners) with career development workshops, exhibition opportunities, workspace, art supplies, and a monthly stipend. You can learn about Winston’s experience in the Atelier here: From the Atelier: The Artist’s Holy Trinity. Ecstatic Skin will feature Winston’s newest work. To see some of the pieces in the show, click here.
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