Madeira Students Recognized in Regional Scholastic Art Awards

Madeira art students were honored with several 2024 Regional Scholastic Art Awards, including five Gold Keys, one Silver Key, and four honorable mentions.  

The Scholastic Art Awards program, presented by the Alliance for Youth Artists and Writers, is the largest, longest-running recognition program of its kind in the United States. Established in 1923, the awards have recognized students who have become some of our nation’s most celebrated artists. More than 200,000 students participate in the program across the country.  

 A distinguished panel of judges who are leaders in the visual arts, evaluated the works on originality, skills, and the emergence of a person voice and selected honorees from 2,500 entries. Out of these submissions, Gold Keys, Silver Keys, and Honorable Mentions are awarded for outstanding drawings, paintings, prints, photographs, ceramics, sculptures, digital art, architecture, jewelry, fashion, film and animation, mixed media artworks, and portfolios.  

Gold Key award-winning entries will be submitted to the national Scholastic Art Awards competition, where students will be awarded national Gold and Silver medals, as well as monetary awards and scholarships. National awards will be announced in June, and an exhibit of the national winners’ works will be on display in New York City later in the year. 

Gold and Silver Key award-winning artwork will be displayed in a free exhibit at the Ernst Cultural Center Gallery at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale beginning February 28, 2024. An award ceremony will be held on the evening of March 6 at the gallery. 

Juliana Dinarte ‘27, Pointillist Value Portrait: My Sister 

Gold Key in Drawing & Illustration

Juliana Dinarte ‘27 found inspiration close to home for her piece. “This piece is a pointillist value portrait of my younger sister, Bianca. With separate dots of pure pink marker color, I was able to create this image of my sister.  It is inspired by a funny photograph of her when she was three years old. In the original photograph her curly hair is wild and uncontrolled, and she is wearing swim goggles. I wanted to recreate her childhood wonder with this portrait.” 

Varsha Ayala ‘27, Balancing Act 

Gold Key in Sculpture

In her Gold Key-winning sculpture titled Balancing Act, Varsha Ayala ‘27 interprets the concept of balance both visually and through her materials. “My sculpture incorporates the balance of natural and synthetic materials and the contrast between rigidity and softness. I had a multitude of balsa wood sticks from a middle school competition and I started making a beach bag using these sticks. I worked with my art studio, US ARTS, to add on additional elements. I learned a lot while my beach bag morphed into a sculpture over several weeks. Balsa wood is a very lightweight and delicate material to work with. While making this sculpture, I had to reattach broken pieces quite a few times. This is also my first submission to Scholastic, and I am looking forward to creating and submitting more art pieces in the future.” 

Nia Thomas ‘25, Routine

Gold Key in Digital Art

Nia Thomas ‘25 was excited to share about her piece, Routine. “This piece is inspired by my nightly curly hair routine. Although this routine is time consuming, it is important as my curly hair is a significant part of my identity. In the past, I wanted straight hair, as I found my curly hair difficult to manage. Now I take pride in my hair and my regimen. This was one of my most time-consuming pieces as it took nearly 20 hours to complete due to all the details, but I am very proud of the results.” 

Yun “Hallie” Lu ‘25, Bond  

Gold Key in Sculpture 

Hallie Lu’s sculpture, Bond, was inspired by the beautiful love between a mother and daughter. “The sculpture portrays a mother and daughter, with the mother braiding the daughter's hair and the daughter combing the mother's hair. Their intertwined hair resembles a Möbius strip, symbolizing the eternal and infinite nature of love, as well as the concept of inheritance. In traditional Chinese culture, hair is referred to as "青丝" (qīngsī), which sounds similar to "情丝" (qíngsī), meaning the threads of emotions. The act of combing hair represents the intimate bond between two individuals, making it a fitting motif to depict the enduring love between mothers and daughters, which is mutually transferred and impactful. It was a challenging task, but I want to use it as a dedication to the love and support I received from my mother and an expression of all maternal love.” 

Hallie also won a Gold Key in Drawing & Illustration for a piece titled Up, as well as a Silver Key and two honorable mentions for her other pieces in various media. 

Other Madeira honorees included Kai Ocloo ‘26, who received an Honorable Mention for Woman of Mid-Tones (Digital Art), and Asta Smitt-Jeppesen '24, who received one for Standing on the Shoulders (Expanded Projects).  

Congratulations to all the honorees! 

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