Baltimore’s arts council, event center and film office. A nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.

Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Presented by Arcadia

The Awards

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is the nation's longest-running and most prestigious creative teen recognition program for students in grades 7-12. BOPA is proud to serve as the Maryland regional affiliate for this competition and support Maryland's next generation of creatives. 

Watch this year's awards show here.

Then, see all of the work awarded in 2022:

Gold Key Recipients (Part 1)
Gold Key Recipients (Part 2)
Gold & Silver Key FIilm + Animation Recipients
Silver Key Recipients 
Honorable Mention

In addition to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, presenting sponsor Arcadia generously created three scholarship opportunities for Baltimore City students who receive a Scholastic award.

This year, 1,300 teens from Baltimore and the surrounding region submitted 3,000 works of visual and literary art. All works are blindly judged by local visual artists, novelists, poets, playwrights, educators, and editors. Each piece is judged based on originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice. Award recipients receive Gold Key, Silver Key, or Honorable Mention. Gold Keys are automatically forwarded for consideration at the national level of the Scholastic Writing Awards.

  • 289 Gold Keys were awarded to the most accomplished works
  • 250 Silver Keys were awarded to distinguished works
  • 500 Honorable Mentions were awarded to promising works

Additionally, the top five submissions in the region for Visual Art are named American Visions nominees, and the top five for writing are named American Voices nominees. These nominees will go on to compete for a National Medal. Here are this year’s nominees:

American Visions Nominees

  • Britney Simbana-J – “Your Landscapers” (Photography), Grade 11, G.W. Carver Center for Arts-Tech, Towson
  • Brea’ Williams – “Not So Little Anymore” (Mixed Media), Grade 12, G.W. Carver Center for Arts-Tech, Towson
  • Jacey Breden – “Fresh Perspectives on Old Conversations” (Drawing & Illustration), Grade 10, Century High School, Sykesville
  • Michelle Lee – “Static Progression” (Film & Animation), Grade 12, River Hill High School, Clarksville
  • Layla Missihou – “My Mind Matters” (Painting), Grade 12, Albert Einstein High School, Kensington

American Voices Nominees

  • Amanda Amadi-Emina – “You Are Getting Box Braids” (Humor), Grade 11, G.W. Carver Center for Arts-Tech, Towson
  • Josephine Halushka – “teenage girls: the revolution” (Poetry), Grade 12, G.W. Carver Center for Arts-Tech, Towson
  • Juliana Isabelle Ongking – “manila rain” (Poetry), Grade 10, Maryland Home Region, Homeschool
  • Meadow Stanley – “To My Grandfather, BaBa” (Poetry), Grade 12, G.W. Carver Center for Arts-Tech, Towson
  • Yakhare Gueye – “The Magical Pills” (Short Stories), Grade 12, Perry Hall High School, Nottingham

The Clean Energy Award- $500 sponsored by Arcadia 
The $500 Clean Energy Scholarship is designated for one visual and one literary art award recipient whose pieces reflect the importance of taking care of this planet through abstract or literal interpretation. The recipients of this award are:

  • Catie Grace O’Connor – “Earth Poems” (Poetry), Grade 7, Dumbarton Middle School, Towson
  • Seungha Shin – “Crow on a Power Line” (Digital Art), Grade 10, Thomas S. Wootton High School, Rockville

Emerging Voices Scholarship $150 sponsored by Arcadia 
The Emerging Voices Scholarship is designated for a Baltimore City student whose literary work exemplifies character, originality, and hope. The Emerging Voices recipient is Zoe Saunders (Grade 9, Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women) for her short story titled “I Used to Know Her.”

Emerging Visions Scholarship $150 sponsored by Arcadia 
The Emerging Visions Scholarship is designated for a Baltimore City student whose visual art work exemplifies character, originality, and hope. The Emerging Visions recipient is Charlotte Roberts (Grade 12, Friends School of Baltimore) for her drawing & illustration titled “3:45 PM Spring.”

A full list of the award winners can be found here.

All regional award recipients — Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honorable Mentions — are invited, along with their guests, teachers, and our esteemed jurors, to a nationwide online Awards Ceremony for the regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards recipients on Sunday, March 13, 2022, from 3:00–4:00 p.m. The event will stream from BOPA's YouTube page. 

The Mission

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. The Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to identify students with exceptional artistic and literary talent and present their remarkable work to the world through the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Through the Awards, students receive opportunities for recognition, exhibition, publication, and scholarships. Students across America submitted nearly 340,000 original works this year in 29 different categories of art and writing.

About the Regional Sponsor

Arcadia is a climate crisis–fighting tech company that connects Maryland residents to local solar farms so that they can help create clean energy for their communities and save money on their power bills. Community solar programs, developed by states like Maryland to encourage more renewable energy, provide residents (especially those who don’t own their homes) many of the same benefits as installing solar panels on their roof — without any installation, change in utility company, or extra cost to sign up.

Renters and homeowners can join Arcadia’s community solar program at arcadia.com/bopa. New members will receive $100 toward their power bill and Arcadia will donate an additional $100 to BOPA for every new sign-up as a way to further support the arts.

  • Excerpt from "Earth Poems"

    Catie Grace O’Connor – “Earth Poems” (Poetry), Grade 7, Dumbarton Middle School, Towson. Winner of the $500 Clean Energy Scholarship for Literary Arts by Arcadia.

  • "Crow on a Power Line"

    Seungha Shin – “Crow on a Power Line” (Digital Art), Grade 10, Thomas S. Wootton High School, Rockville. Winner of the $500 Clean Energy Scholarship for Visual Arts by Arcadia.

  • Excerpt from "I Used to Know Her"

    The Emerging Voices recipient is Zoe Saunders (Grade 9, Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women) for her short story titled “I Used to Know Her.”

  • “3:45 PM Spring”

    The Emerging Visions recipient is Charlotte Roberts (Grade 12, Friends School of Baltimore) for her drawing & illustration titled “3:45 PM Spring.”

Past Scholastic Art and Writing Award Recipients

Maryland Art and Writing Region

The Baltimore Office of Promotion and Arts is the Maryland Art affiliate for all counties in the state of Maryland and the Writing affiliate for all counties in the state of Maryland (excluding PG and Montgomery counties).  We accept submissions each year beginning in September, and the deadline for submissions is early December.

Regional recognition includes Gold Key awards, Silver Key awards, and Honorable Mentions. Gold Keys are automatically forwarded for consideration at the national level of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Five works of writing and five works of art from the region are selected by local judges as American Voices & Visions nominees, who are then celebrated in local exhibitions and ceremonies.