Adrianne Ross, Clear Creek ISD

Talented teen artists and writers in Harris County gain acclaim through the Harris County Department of Education’s Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards 2020. From a total of 8,997 entries 1,018 Gold Key awardees advance to be judged nationally in New York City through the artistic nonprofit which inspires teens across the country.

Exhibits and receptions are being hosted throughout the city in recognition of 7-12 graders from public, private and home schools: https://tinyurl.com/ScholasticHCDE20 . Locations for exhibits include the Galleria and Texas Art Supply. (View awardees: www.hcde-texas.org/scholastic-awards )

Awards are provided for Gold Key, Silver Key and Honorable Mention recipients. Recipients come from public school districts ranging from Aldine to Waller and private schools spanning from Episcopal to The Village School. Home school students gain awards as well.

Tiffany Campbell, Klein ISD

Anthony Abarca, Aldine ISD

A total of 25 school districts, 23 private schools, several charter schools and home schools are represented as students earn Gold Key, Silver Key and honorable mention awards. Top-award Gold Key recipients advance to national judging to be considered for Gold and Silver Medals which are announced March 16 and awarded on June 4 through a ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Students submitted their work through the 800-plus teachers who support and participate in HCDE’s regional competition, said Andrea Segraves, HCDE Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards program coordinator. Several hundred volunteer art and writing professionals judge the submissions.

“We are grateful for the supporters of the Awards in Harris County—from the community supporters who offer space to showcase works, to the organizations who offer student scholarships, to the hundreds of jurors who volunteer their time,” said HCDE Superintendent James Colbert Jr. “We are honored to be a 16-year regional sponsor of this iconic celebration of artistic talent.”

Medha Fotedar, Klein ISD

Vallery Orr, Spring Branch ISD

Ten students earned special-award recognition through the American Voices and American Vision awards. These 10 awards are judged nationally through Scholastic Art & Writing in New York City for the American Voices/American Visions Medals. One in each art and writing category will be selected and announced in March:

American Visions:
Anthony Abarca, 17, Carver High School, Aldine ISD, Photography, “Love Affair”
Tiffany Campbell, 17, Klein Oak High School, Klein ISD, Digital Art, “Harvey”
Medha Fotedar, 15, Klein Collins High School, Klein ISD, Drawing and Illustration, “Stunted Growth”
Vallery Orr, 16, Memorial High School, Spring Branch ISD, Digital Art, “Disintegrated Identity”
Adrianne Ross, 17, Clear Creek High School, Clear Creek ISD, Digital Art, “Programmed Discovery”

American Voices:
Chloe Beaudreau, 16, Carnegie Vanguard High School, Houston ISD, Poetry, “Photo Album”
Joshua Danziger, 14, Emery Weiner School, Private, Critical Essay, “Discrimination Without Delineation”
Aditya Namjoshi, 17, Dawson High School, Pearland ISD, Humor, “The Americanized Times of Hindoostan”
James Sy, 16, St. John’s School, Personal Essay/Memoir, “Thrown to the Sharks”
Grace Yin, 16, Tomball Memorial High School, Tomball ISD, Poetry, “Birds”

Regional awardees find common ground with alumni Scholastic Art & Writing honorees and famous writers and artists such as Truman Capote, Andy Warhol, Joyce Carol Oates, Marc Brown, Sylvia Plath, Dan Fogelberg and Robert Redford.  Since 1923, the organization’s mission is to bring outstanding visual art and writing created by teens to a national audience by showcasing the work and encouraging creative career development.

The following area school districts are represented: Aldine, Alief, Channelview, Clear Creek, Crosby, Cy-Fair, Deer Park, Friendswood, Fort Bend, Galena Park, Goose Creek, Harmony Public Schools, Houston, Huffman, Humble, Katy, Klein, La Porte, Lamar Consolidated, Calvin Nelms Charter, New Caney, Pasadena, Pearland, Spring Branch, Spring, Tomball and Waller.

Private school with student awards include: Awty International, Annunciation Orthodox, British International School of Houston, Concordia Lutheran High School, Duchesne Academy Of Sacred Heart, Episcopal High School, Houston Christian High School, Incarnate Word Academy, Kinkaid School, Northland Christian, Presbyterian School, River Oaks Baptist School, St Agnes Academy, St Francis Episcopal Day School, Inman Academy, St. John’s School, St. John XXIII Prep, St. Pius X, St. Thomas Episcopal School, Strake Jesuit, Veritas Christian Academy, The Village School, and Emery Weiner School.

Through the art categories, students gain 435 Gold Keys, 577 Silver Keys, and 917 honorable mentions. In the writing categories, students earn 583 Gold Keys, 934 Silver Keys, and 983 honorable mentions.

For more information about HCDE’s regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and opportunities to sponsor, judge and enter the competition, go to www.hcde-texas.org/scholastic-awards  .

Photos: American Visions art awardees  Anthony Abarca, Tiffany Campbell, Medha Fotedar, Vallery Orr and Adrianne Ross