Eastern Central PA Students Announced as 2022 Regional Scholastic Art Award Recipients

Artwork.

KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Eastern Central Pennsylvania Scholastic Affiliate has announced the regional award recipients of the 2022 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Presented by the nonprofit organization the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, the 98th Scholastic Art and Writing Awards are the country's longest-running and most prestigious scholarship and recognition program for creative students in grades 7-12.

An awards ceremony will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, March 5, at Kutztown University's Schaeffer Auditorium. Families and teachers are welcome to celebrate the winning students. The gallery will be open 12-4 p.m.

The Eastern Central Scholastic Awards is supported by Kutztown University's College of Visual and Performing Arts, Kutztown University's Arts Society P.L.A.Y. initiative and Blick Art Materials. Learn more about the KU Arts Society at https://www.kutztown.edu/about-ku/administrative-offices/ku-presents/support/ku-arts-society.html. Special awards for students are given by Dr. Christine Oaklander, Dennis Danko, The Lehigh Valley Arts Alliance, the Bethlehem Fine Arts Commission and the Goggleworks Center for the Arts.

This program year, nearly 200,000 works of art and writing were submitted to more than 100 Affiliate Partners across the country. Jurors this year were Isla Gordon, manager of galleries at The Goggleworks, Doug Wunder, jeweler from Kutztown, and Sandy Corpora, painter from Bethlehem.

Most of the students in this competition are taught by alumni of KU's Department of Art Education. Their student's success exemplifies the strength of Kutztown University's program as well as showcasing the many school districts in our area that have stellar 7-12 grade art programs.

Creative teens from Berks, Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties received regional honors, including Gold Keys, Silver Keys and Honorable Mentions from the local jurors. Four students are awarded with the American Visions Awards nomination, who represent the best of the exhibition. Congratulations to Akashdeep Bhullar, Grade 10 from Conrad Weiser High School for photography, Sadie Kennedy, Grade 12 from Emmaus High School for drawing, Emma Li, Grade 11 from Easton Area High School for video and Julio Pena Sosa, Grade 10 from Louis E Dieruff High School for painting.

More than 200 students from 19 local schools were awarded this year: Allentown Central Catholic High School, Bethlehem Catholic High School, Conrad Weiser High School, Easton Area High School, Emmaus High School, Exeter Township Senior High School, Eyer Middle School, Kutztown Senior High School, Lehigh Career and Technical Institute, Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts, Louis E Dieruff High School, Nazareth Area High School, Oley Valley High School, Parkland High School, Springhouse Middle School, Whitehall High School, William Allen High School, Wilson Area High School and Wilson Senior High School.

In celebration of this year's regional recipients, an exhibition of the artwork will be in the Miller Gallery of Kutztown University's Sharadin Arts Building. The exhibition is free and open to the public 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 12-4 p.m., Saturday, and 2-4 p.m., Sunday.

An online version of the exhibition can be viewed here.

Since the program's founding in 1923, the Awards have fostered the creativity and talent of millions of students and include a distinguished list of alumni including Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, Richard Avedon, Philip Pearlstein, Sylvia Plath, Stephen King, Richard Linklater, Zac Posen, Lena Dunham and Amanda Gorman – all of whom received recognition in the Awards when they were teens.

For Gold Key works of art and writing in the Awards 29 categories, including architecture, painting, printmaking, video game design, photography and more, the opportunities for recognition will continue when the works are juried again on a national level by a panel of leading creative professionals. These award winners will be announced mid-March.

A complete list of 2022 regional Gold Key Scholastic Art & Writing Awards recipients is available online.