Tracker Pixel for Entry

​Supporting North Dakota’s Next Generation of Creativity

Culture | April 4th, 2018

Photograph by Jude DillWhenever the topic of children’s education comes up, the subject of the arts usually follows. Despite the fact that artistic undertaking can have a positive effect on a young individual’s development, arts programs are often the first to see budget cuts for more “practical” fields. Many great artists got their start when they were young, and not giving young people the proper outlets to ply their craft means that we may be denying ourselves the artists and writers of tomorrow. Fortunately, there are people and programs that help support these impulses.

Recently, I was able to speak with someone who has worked one on one with one of these programs -- Kelly Sassi, the director of the Red River Valley Writing Project, who partners with the Plains Arts Museum to serve as the state affiliate for the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. She was able to provide me with a wealth of information concerning the competition, which began on the national level in 1923 and is presented by the national nonprofit organization The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.

There is a whole litany of sponsors whose generosity make the competition possible, including Scholastic Inc., The Maurice R. Robinson Fund, Command Web Offset Co., The New York Times, New York Life Foundation, The Herb Block Foundation, Blick Art Materials & Utrecht Art Supplies, Golden Artist Colors, Bloomberg Philanthropies, ESA Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Creative Circle, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and Amazon Literary Partnerships, among others. Some of the alumni of the program have included Truman Capote, Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, and Stephen King.

In North Dakota alone this year there were 386 works submitted by students between grades 7 to 12. 133 of them were awarded Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honorable Mention Awards at the state level. 27 of the Gold Key winners were then forwarded to the national level and of those six North Dakotans received national awards: Jakob Bloomquist of Maple Valley High School in Tower City (educator Julie Kaspari) won an American Visions Award for this untitled photograph, Olivia Drake of Davies High School in Fargo (educator Lindsay Seeling) won an American Voices Award and a Gold Medal for her short story “First Steps to Freedom”, Jude Dill of Davies High School in Fargo (educator Jazmyne Reinke) won a Silver Medal for a photographic work titled “Thoughts”, Oliva Data of Horizon Middle School in Bismarck (educator David St. Peter) won a Gold Medal for her poem “Dream”, Ainsley Sabo of Horizon Middle School in Bismarck (educator David St. Peter) won a Gold Medal for the personal essay “The Color in Black and White Films”, and Sana Kathawala of Horizon Middle School in Bismarck (educator Kelly Moorman) won a Silver Medal for the science fiction story “Enter the Woods”.

Sassi said, “This is the largest number of national awards received by North Dakota teens since the RRVWP and Plains Art Museum began partnering to serve as the state affiliate of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards four years ago. I am proud of these student award winners and their educators and hope they will attend the national ceremony in New York City on June 7.”

The Awards accept entries from 29 different categories which include architecture, painting, flash fiction, poetry, printmaking, video game design, and more. On the national level they are adjudicated by a panel of leading creative professionals. Any National Gold Medalists will be honored during an awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City, and all National Medalists are faced with a number of other possibilities, like being included in the Art. Write. Now. tour traveling exhibition or having their work released in the Best Teen Writing anthology.

Information about the competition, rules and submission is sent to every North Dakota school. Multiple works can be submitted by the same person, so someone could theoretically submit work in several different categories. The fact that the contest is annual means that even if one year a student doesn’t succeed they can always submit a new creation the next year.

YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Alliance of Young Artists & Writers: www.artandwriting.org

http://mediaroom.scholastic.com for additional information about the awards. 

Recently in:

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comNorth Dakota communities will join a “nationwide day of defiance” against authoritarianism and President Donald Trump’s policies on Saturday, June 14. A range of "No Kings" events…

Back-to-school season is on the horizon, but there's still plenty of summer left. Check out our favorite August attractions and events in North Dakota and western Minnesota. And if if you missed them, here are a few excellent May…

June 21, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway N., Fargo“We Watch Shudder,” Fargo’s favorite horror podcasters, bring on the darkness during the longest day of the year. The Darkest Day of Horror Film Festival features…

Fighting the good fightBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Over two thousand rallies took place nationwide June 14 as part of the “No Kings" protest. Ten of those protests were held in North Dakota, with thousands in attendance.…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWe need Paul Revere on a Harley: “ants and autocrats are coming!”The Asian needle ant has been nesting in the American South since at least 1932. It probably hitched a ride on a freighter from…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com The weather warmed up quickly here in the upper Midwest this spring, sparking prime eating season. This means burger battles, food trucks and lake-season food travel. The 2025 Downtown Fargo Burger…

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comThe Moorhead Public Library will offer three free, all-ages outdoor concerts featuring regional bands this summer. The series begins on June 12 with the Meat Rabbits, a group that blends…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com The June 9 death of musician Sylvester Stewart, known much better by stage name Sly Stone, saw an outpouring of tributes, memorials and appreciations from some who knew him personally and many…

By Deb Wallworkdwallwork@icloud.comI first met Catherine Mulligan at a party at her house. It was a small gathering, spontaneous, just a few people over for dinner. Directed toward a stack of plates and bowls and a big pot warming…

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comAct Up Theatre, in partnership with Minnesota State University Moorhead, will present “The Sound of Music” on June 10-14. All shows are at 7:30 p.m. at the Minnesota State Moorhead’s…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

The drug that keeps re-purposing itselfBy Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com There is a drug that is getting a lot of attention nowadays all over the world. It has various commercial names (Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus), but…

By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…

By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson@rocketmail.com Working in the Bakken oil fields of the Williston Basin is so different from my home in Fargo. I'm not judging, because the people working and living in western North Dakota are very…