Behind the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards: How Blind Judging and National Medals Really Work
By Sophia Al-Mansoor
The competition began modestly in 1923 as a four-page youth magazine feature offering a $5 prize for a student illustration. Over the following century, the program evolved into an expansive cultural enterprise stewarded by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. Alumni include monumental figures like Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, Kay WalkingStick, and Sylvia Plath.
That legacy fuels fierce competition. Each fall, students in grades 7, 12 submit work across roughly 16 visual art categories, spanning drawing, painting, photography, ceramics, sculpture, comic art, and digital illustration. Regional affiliates, composed of local museums, university art departments, and community arts councils, manage the primary intake. In Syracuse, the CNY Scholastic Art Awards showcase regional standouts at Onondaga Community College, as reported by Syracuse.com. Farther south, the University of South Florida serves as an active regional partner welcoming creative teens to campus stages.
The intake volume is staggering. Local panels process thousands of files within a three-week window each December. Jurors evaluate everything from raw sketchbooks to advanced multimedia installations, hunting for pieces that transcend standard high school art assignments.
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