Scholastic Art Awards National Winners Announced

"Release"

Shaina Kassanof, artist

Silver Medal Winner

From left to right: Shaina Kassanof, Suse LaGory, Andrea Piekarczyk

"All in a Day's Work"

Andrea Pickarczyk, artist

Gold Medal Winner

"Sustainance"
Suse LaGory, artist

Gold Medal Winner

3 students from Community High School District 99/Downers Grove South High School have received a prestigious national Award for their outstanding artwork through The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the 86 year-old national program that recognizes outstanding creative teenagers and offers scholarship opportunities for graduating high school seniors.

This year’s Award recipients from Downers Grove South High School are:

Senior Andrea Piekarczyk was awarded a Gold Medal for her Graphic Story piece titled "All in a Day's Work"; Senior Suse LaGory was awarded a Gold Medal for her Photograph titled "Sustainance", and Senior Shaina Kasanoff was awarded a Silver Medal for her Photograph titled "Release."

The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the national nonprofit organization that presents The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, will honor these students on June 4, 2009, at a gala celebration at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Selected award recipients and high school seniors recognized with top honors for portfolios will have their art/writing exhibited in Manhattan at the World Monuments Fund Gallery.

These students join the ranks of some of our country’s most revered artists and writers who have received Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in the past, including Robert Redford, Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, John Lithgow, Bernard Malamud, Joyce Carol Oates, Tom Otterness, Philip Pearlstein, Zac Posen, Sylvia Plath, Richard Avedon, and Robert Indiana.

The first level of recognition for these students’ outstanding work took place through Chicagoland Regional Affiliate, one of 81 affiliate organizations nationwide that, in partnership with the Alliance, conduct The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in Illinois. 56 DGS student artists won 90 awards, including 1 American Vision Award, 23 Gold Key Awards, 33 Silver Key Awards, and 33 Honorable Mention Awards.


After receiving awards locally, the work of these three students was evaluated by an esteemed panel of jurors in New York City, alongside thousands of entries from other regional affiliate programs across the country. Notable past and current jurors include Robert Frost, Chuck Paluhniak, Gary Panter, Elizabeth Bishop, Frank McCourt, Billy Collins, Judy Blume, William Saroyan, KiKi Smith, Faith Ringgold and Andy Rooney.

Since Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, media and education company, founded the program in 1923, more than 13 million of America’s most talented junior high and high school youth (grades 7-12) have participated in The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and 2.5 million have been recognized and shared in $30 million in cash awards and college scholarships. The Awards bring teenagers’ visual art and writing to a national audience by showcasing their remarkable work and encouraging their creative journey and career development. In addition to awarding annual scholarships to top portfolio award recipients, the Alliance collaborates with colleges across the country that make an additional $3.9 million in financial aid available to award recipients.

The work of the Alliance is made possible through the support of Scholastic Inc., the Title Sponsor. Presenting Sponsors include The New York Times Company, Command Web Offset and Ovation TV. Generous leadership support is also provided by The Maurice R. Robinson Fund and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.

"We are all extremely proud of Andrea, Suse and Shaina for their continued artistic success." said Fine Arts Department Chairperson Glenn Williams. "Having three national Scholastic Award winners at DGS is unprecedented, and, is idicative of our tremendous staff and the overall strength of our program."

For more information about Fine Arts at Downers Grove South High School, contact Glenn Williams, department chairperson at gwilliams@csd99.org