Being the second-largest regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards affiliate in the United States means a lot of things.

For Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) – that second-largest affiliate – it means finding prestigious and creative ways to honor the many award-winning artists and writers in the region.

Just how many?

More than 3,800.

Those Scholastic Art & Writing honorees were selected from a total of 15,886 writing pieces and artwork submitted for consideration in Harris County.

HCDE announced the 2024 regional award recipients in late March, setting the stage for receptions, press releases, news interviews, celebrations and galleries in the months to follow. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Regional Ceremonies are slated for March 7-8 at the University of Houston’s Cullen Performance Hall.

The process didn’t come without a few hurdles, namely delays in the program at the national level.

“Many of those things were beyond our control as the regional affiliate,” said Jasmine Booker, Center for Educator Success officer of community and leadership development. “However, we can control how we celebrate the kids.”

So HCDE added two more recognition events this spring to showcase the talented students and their work. The 2024 Harris County Regional Art Exhibit receptions were held this week – May 1 for middle school students at Texas Art Supply and May 2 for high school students at the University of Houston’s (UH) Student Center.

“It feels good for us to be able to quickly pivot and respond to the request of coordinators and students on what we can do to improve the program without there being a lot of red tape that hinders us,” Booker said. “We’re grateful to be an affiliate that has the funding to be able to add on events like individual receptions along with the ceremonies that we’re having. Even being able to print the programs for the ceremonies next week where we can include every single student’s name. It’s something that’s very unique about us – not every affiliate is able to offer that to students.”

Each exhibit site will showcase the many pieces of artwork for roughly three weeks and allow the public to see what Harris County student artists have to offer.

The dedicated nights for the receptions of Gold Key and Silver Key winners, however, gave the young artists and their families and supporters a chance to see other pieces and network with each other. Both ran from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and featured refreshments and a backdrop for photos.

Ekaterina Biryukova, an eighth grader from the Village School, was among the first artists to make it to Texas Art Supply. She visited with her mother and the two spent stretches of time discussing the various pieces on display.

A Gold Key winner, Biryukova said she appreciated the opportunity to see her artwork on display with others across the area.

“This is nice,” she said. “When you’re at school, you don’t really get to see what other people do and how they express themselves. It’s mainly just your classmates, but here you can see everything and see how you’re different from others.”

Indigo Mouton, a writing winner from Awty International School, visited the reception with her mother. She said being able to see other pieces makes her appreciate the talent of her fellow students.

“I had no idea they had these gifts,” Mouton said. “So, it was cool to see students like me doing writing and art and seeing that side of them. Every piece of art just makes you say, ‘Wow.’”

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards will continue recognizing creative students at the regional awards celebration next week. The two-night event will be May 7-8 back at UH’s Cullen Performance Hall. Each night will feature guest speakers, a live stream and acknowledgement of all Silver Key and Gold Key winners.

As for the new exhibit nights, attendees left with positive reviews. Aaron Zhang, a teacher with Flux School of Art, said the experience is valuable for the student artists. A few of his students had pieces on display but he spent just as much time admiring others.

Zhang, like many others who attended, even took a few photos to refer back to.

“Most of these students may have stressful studies and don’t always have the chance to see outside their schools and studios,” he said. “But this was a really good opportunity to show their work, communicate with other people and see other work.”