Acclaimed as one of America’s longest-running art and writing competitions, the Scholastic Art and Writing competition is held annually, celebrating student creativity and talent. With 17 art categories to submit to — from digital art to ceramic to fashion to drawing and illustration — McLean students turned in their best works before the Fairfax regional deadline on Feb. 6.

“Every year my favorite part of the Scholastic Art awards is the recognition the students get for their hard work,” art teacher Ann Feldman said. “They put in so much effort to make beautiful art and I’m thrilled that it’s acknowledged and recognized”.

This year, 116 McLean student entries were awarded across all categories. These awards included honorable mentions, silver keys and gold keys.

“We are the strongest school in regards to scholastic in the Fairfax County region. We won more awards in this county than any of the other schools,” Feldman said. “It makes sense, once you get to the higher-level art classes at McLean [like AP 2-D Art and Design] you start to see that the art made by students parallels those of college artists.”

Art pieces that were awarded silver and gold keys have been put up for a temporary exhibition at Northern Virginia (NOVA) Community College in the Richard J. Ernst Community Cultural Center on the community college’s Annandale campus. The exhibition opened on Feb. 28 and will extend through March 14th.

Ultimately, the competition and the eventual exhibition are chances for students to extend their passion for creativity, as well as potentially share their works with the community.

“I love to see the students get excited about [the awards]; it’s very fulfilling to see and feel that energy from the students,” Feldman said. “It’s a great opportunity to display your work and to have a wider audience.”

The exhibition at NOVA is highly recommended to those who may have ties with individuals who won an award, and art enthusiasts in general.

“I really enjoyed the exhibition, I was surprised by the skills of the students,” said junior Jude Elhadi, who visited the exhibition. “In a generation where the creativity [and] art is being threatened by technological developments like AI, seeing all the accomplishments of of students – whether [they are] thought-provoking editorial cartoons, paintings, wholesome animations, or impressive sculptures – was reassuring that […] there’s still hope for artists and creativity in the future.”

Visit the link below to see the exhibition opening and closing times.
https://www.artandwriting.org/regions/VA002A