2021 Scholastic Art Award Gold Key- and Silver Key- Winning Works on View through March 21, 2021
For a full list of the 2021 winners, click here.
Jackson, MS…The Mississippi Museum of Art today announced the winning students from this year’s Mississippi Regional Competition of the 2021 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Presented by the nonprofit organization the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the 98th Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the country’s longest-running and most prestigious scholarship and recognition program for creative students in grades 7–12. This year, more than 100,000 teens submitted their best art and writing in more than 100 regions across the country. For this year’s competition, over 1,200 works were submitted by nearly 450 students across the state of Mississippi. Of these works, jurors selected 81 Gold Keys, 128 Silver Keys, 253 Honorable Mentions, plus five American Visions nominees.
“I am blown away by the truly exceptional work these students have created. I feel ecstatic and encouraged by the incredibly rich talent exhibited year after year by the students of Mississippi, especially this year: a year that presented innumerable challenges to students and teachers,” said Merry Barnes, the Museum’s James and Madeleine McMullan Director of School Programs.
MMA’s exhibition of Gold Key- and Silver Key-winning artworks, on view in the Museum’s corridor through March 21, 2021. Honorable Mention-winning artworks are available for viewing on the Museum’s website. Awarded artists and their teachers will be recognized during a pre-recorded, virtual ceremony Sunday, March 21, at noon on the Museum’s Facebook page.
The winning students represent 22 schools, along with homechools: Armstrong Middle School, Brandon High School, Education Center School, Germantown High School, Gulfport High School, Jackson Academy, Jackson Preparatory School, Lamar School, Madison Middle School, Madison Ridgeland Academy, Mississippi School of the Arts, North Pike Senior High School, Northwest Rankin High School, Petal High School, Power APAC, Ridgeland High School, St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, St. Joseph Catholic School, Starkville High School, The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, Vicksburg Catholic School, and West Jones High School. For a full list of winners visit msmuseumart.org or click here.
The Mississippi Museum of Art has overseen the art component of the Mississippi Regional Competition for more than 60 years. “Every year we are impressed with the students’ artwork,” said Museum Director Betsy Bradley. “This year especially, we are honored to share the work of these young and talented Mississippians with the public; hopefully providing inspiration and refuge in today’s climate. Congratulations to the awarded students and their teachers and parents.”
Since the program’s founding in 1923, the Awards have fostered the creativity and talent of millions of students and include a distinguished list of alumni including Tschabalala Self, Stephen King, Kay WalkingStick, Charles White, Joyce Carol Oates, and Andy Warhol, all of whom received recognition in the Awards when they were teens.
For Gold Key works of art and writing in the Awards’ 28 categories—including architecture, painting, flash fiction, poetry, printmaking, science fiction & fantasy, and more—the opportunities for recognition will continue when the works are adjudicated again on a national level by a panel of leading creative professionals. National Medalists will be announced on March 17, 2021. All National Medalists are eligible for a wealth of additional opportunities, such as scholarships, inclusion in the Art.Write.Now.Tour traveling exhibition, and in anthologies The Best Teen Art and The Best Teen Writing. National Medalist poets are considered for the National Student Poets Program, the nation’s highest honor for young poets presenting original work.
###
National Sponsors:
The Alliance is grateful for its generous sponsors, who provide funds to support and produce the Scholastic Awards at the national level: Scholastic Inc., The Maurice R. Robinson Fund, New York Life Foundation, Command Companies, The New York Times, Blick Art Materials & Utrecht Art Supplies, The Herb Block Foundation, Golden Artist Colors, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Ray Bradbury Foundation, Salesforce, National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; and for the National Student Poets Program, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Poetry Foundation, Wunderkinder Foundation, and the Academy of American Poets. The Alliance also expresses its gratitude to numerous other individuals, foundations, and corporations for their support.
For more information about the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers and the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, visit the Scholastic News Room: http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/artandwriting.
Visitor Information
Opening Hours:
Thursday – Saturday: 10 AM – 5 PM
Sunday: noon – 5 PM
General Admission:
Free and open to the public
COVID-19 Guidelines:
COVID safety precautions include requiring all visitors to wear masks and observe social distancing guidelines. Masks are available on site. All public spaces have been sanitized, and thorough cleaning continues every day. Staff are on site to ensure that social distancing guidelines are maintained. Please visit msmuseumart.org for more information.
About the Mississippi Museum of Art
Established in 1911, the Mississippi Museum of Art is dedicated to connecting Mississippi to the world and the power of art to the power of community. The Museum’s permanent collection includes paintings, photography, multimedia works, and sculpture by Mississippi, American, and international artists. The largest art museum in the state, the Mississippi Museum of Art offers a vibrant roster of exhibitions, public programs, artistic and community partnerships, educational initiatives, and opportunities for exchange year-round. Programming is developed inclusively with community involvement to ensure a diversity of voices and perspectives are represented. Located at 380 South Lamar Street in downtown Jackson, the Museum is committed to honesty, equity, and inclusion. The Mississippi Museum of Art and its programs are sponsored in part by the City of Jackson and Visit Jackson. Support is also provided in part by funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. For more information, visit msmuseumart.org.
MEDIA RESOURCES
View list of this year’s winners and honorable mentions.
Web: msmuseumart.org
Facebook: facebook.com/msmuseumart
Twitter: twitter.com/MSMuseumArt
Instagram: instagram.com/msmuseumart
