From student-led art shows to competitions and scholarships, the National Art Honor Society (NAHS) is prepared to take on the novel school year, sketchbooks, prints and paintbrushes in hand.
NAHS members first met to organize a stand at the Celebrate McLean event. During their first meeting of the 2024-2025 school year, students prepared art prints and designed decorations for the booth, while also creating bracelets and accessories to be sold at Celebrate McLean.
Since then, the NAHS has concluded their formal application process and have moved to commencing various art-related projects, all while highlighting accessible opportunities for members to pursue.
“[The NAHS is] a place where students can show off their creativity, which I feel is important since there aren’t that many opportunities in school or outside of school to do it,” said senior Emily Ma, seasonal president of the NAHS. “We’re dedicated to being inclusive and enjoying the beautiful art that students can contribute to our community.”
One of the first events NAHS will be hosting is the Fall Art Show, set to open Oct. 21 in collaboration with the Student Art Project (SAP) group. NAHS members as well as students are encouraged to submit and contribute their efforts to set up the exhibition. Submissions have been open since Sept. 30 and will close on Oct. 13.
“Come submit your stuff to the art shows, show it off, connect with your peers, get creative with one another,” said Allison Dreon, McLean art teacher and NAHS sponsor. “Don’t be intimidated, we have so many places to showcase your artwork and we love to get artwork from outside of the art rooms as well, so please, submit your pieces.”
However, the NAHS hopes to organize a wider range of diverse art-related events outside of art shows.
“I think over the last couple years, just because we organize so many art shows and they take up so much time and effort, that’s what NAHS ended up doing, which moved away from the society’s original mission,” Dreon said. “We’ll be changing that this year. I’m excited that we’ll be getting students together more regularly to do art projects and art-service related activities”
Previously, the SAP was part of the NAHS, but has since split into its own activity. This year, the SAP, led by art teacher Swapna Elias, will primarily be responsible for organizing art shows at school, while the NAHS will focus on other service events.
“We divided the NAHS and created the SAP, which will be more dedicated to putting on the art shows. Meanwhile, as the NAHS, we’ll be getting back to our roots,” Dreon said. “We’re planning to do monthly meetings where we actually make art and do art-service related things.”
Meanwhile, the annual Scholastic Art and Writing Awards opened their submission portal on Sep. 1. In the past, student-artists of McLean have been known to excel in the Scholastic Art Awards, with McLean taking home the most awards and honorable mentions of any other school in the region last year.
Much like the NAHS and SAP exhibition held at McLean, the Scholastic Art Awards are open to students who are enrolled in an art class or have enrolled in an art course in the past. There are also more categories that students can submit to ranging from classic visual arts categories like paintings, pottery and illustrations, to printmaking, fashion, film and animation, and architecture and industrial design.
Students can visit this link to submit their pieces, browse winning artworks or learn more about Scholastic Art and Writing Awards guidelines.
The NAHS is also dedicated to exposing art students to potential scholarship and awards opportunities, in hopes of promoting creativity and championing the creation of art after high school.
This month, seniors who have demonstrated academic achievement in previous visual art or performing art classes also have the opportunity to apply for the Student Presidential Scholars in the Arts Program, one of the nations highest honors for creatives. Since the inception of the arts subdivision of the Presidential Scholars program in 1979, they have continued forth with the philosophy of recognizing young and promising creatives across the nation.
Alongside academic requirements, students must be involved with creative writing, dance, documentary filmmaking, jazz band, photography, singing, theater/performing or visual arts. Before submitting to the Presidential Scholars in the Arts Program, students must first apply to the YoungArts scholarship. Click this link to learn more and submit an application.
This year, the McLean chapter of the NAHS hopes to foster an environment that values creativity, presenting a plethora of opportunities for young artists.
“There are so many art-related events and opportunities throughout the year that’ll spark your inspiration and further deepen your appreciation for the arts,” Ma said. “I’m personally most excited for the show at the McLean community center near the end of the year. It’s our biggest event of the year and it always feels vibrant.”
