Every year, students from Academy submit artwork and writing pieces to the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards (SAWA) and hope to win prizes on the regional and national scale. The SAWA are a unique opportunity for high school students to have their work published and displayed in professional galleries.

The award winners on the regional level have their pieces displayed in the Acock Gallery at the Columbus College of Art and Design, while National Medalists will have their work displayed in New York City.

Recognition for the talented artists participating in this program, however, goes beyond galleries. Annually, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers awards $300,000 to top awards recipients.

Congratulation to Academy’s ten students who placed in the SAWA:

Regional Honorable Mentions:

Rhea Rhao ’17

Angus Soderberg ’18

Sophia Tidwell ’19

Connor Brown ’18

Max Chavarria ’18

Whitney Dankworth ’17

Parker Graham ’17

Olivia Irion ’17

Michael Zhang ’17

Regional Silver Key Awards:

Bea Sull ’20

Olivia Irion ’17

Michael Zhang ’17

Regional Gold Key Awards:

Max Chavarria ’18

Michael Zhang ’17

Senior Michael Zhang, who secured awards in all three categories, was also nominated for the prestigious American Visions Award.

Only five pieces of artwork and five writing pieces are chosen from each region as nominations. A panel of esteemed judges in New York City reviews the pieces and chooses one artist and one writer from each region to win the award.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards website says that nominees for this award “most exemplify originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision.”

Zhang will find out at a later date if his photograph was chosen to win the award.