UPDATE: MHS Wins 66 Art Awards, 11 Writing Awards

Updates story with the names of the writing winners.

Millburn High School visual art students have won 62 awards and two Millburn Middle School students won a total of 5 awards in the 2012 Northern NJ Regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards competition.  In addition there were 11 winners in the writing contest.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards competition is sponsored by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, whose mission is to “identify, motivate and validate the next generation of artists and writers.” The competition is the nation’s longest-running, largest and most prestigious recognition program for creative teenagers in the visual and literary arts, according to architect and MHS art teacher Dr. Roger W. Keller.

Students from Northern New Jersey submitted their artwork in December to the Montclair Art Museum, (3 South Mountain Avenue, Montclair NJ 07042), which serves as the local Scholastic Arts affiliate for the Northern NJ Region. This year, Gary Schneider, Director of Education at the museum, noted that an amazing 2,800 artworks were submitted and that the officials involved in the jury process found the deliberation process all the more difficult due to the high caliber of the artwork. The jury process is "blind," which means the jurors do not know any personal information about the students. The artwork is reviewed on originality, technical skill and emergence of personal vision, Keller said.

The experience of entering the competition offers the students an opportunity to gain recognition in a wide range of media and celebrates the students’ unique creative visions, he said.

 Winning students represent all parts of the Millburn High School art curriculum and include works in media such as printmaking, painting, drawing, digital arts, sculpture, crafts and photography. This year, two of the Gold Key winners received their awards for jewelry created in the crafts courses at the high school.

The student awards include the Gold Key, Silver Key and Honorable Mention in both the individual category and the Senior Portfolio category. An exhibit of the Gold Key artwork will be on display at Montclair Art Museum Feb. 11 – March 9 in the Education and Art School Arcade gallery. The Award Ceremony and Reception for Gold Key and Silver Key winners will be on Wednesday Feb. 15 from 6 to 9 p.m. 

Award Winners

Gold Key: Haiwen He, Irene Hoxie, Shiv Malhotra, Leigh Moriarty, Amanda Prager, Julia Schaevitz, Jordan Scharf. Emma Schiekofer, Owen Schumacher, Tara Sood, Alexandra Tritsch, Michael Yuan, Brittany Zwang

Silver Key: Simran Malhotra (2 awards, Millburn Middle School), Amanda Cammalleri, Emily Draper, Jade Gardner, Morgan Gruer, Irene Hoxie, Amanda Huang (3 awards), Jake Oleson (3 awards), Lily Russo, Samantha Schaevitz, Jordan Scharf, Sophie Schneider, Owen Schumacher, McKenzie Sutton, Nicole Winkler, Wenyun Zou, Brittany Zwang (art portfolio)

Honorable Mention: Simran Malhotra (2 awards, Millburn Middle School), Tahra Anglade, Lindsay Basile, Lilly Blum, Chelsea Castro, Ramya Chitbomma, Sophia Deng, Emily Draper (2 awards), Charlie Ehrenfried, Morgan Gruer, Danielle Hitzig, Viraj Khetani (2 awards), Brianna Khoong (2 awards), Joshua Klieger, Chanthia Ma (Senior Portfolio), Jake Oleson , Samantha Schaevitz, Sophie Schneider, Owen Schumacher, Jessica Solodkin, McKenzie Sutton, Michael Yuan, Sarah Zaccardo, Brittany Zwang (2 awards)

WRITING WINNERS:

Gold Key: Josh Kimelman, Icebox Saints

Silver Key: Emily Draper, Flash Fiction; Josh Kimelman, Poetry; Michelle Waters, Personal Essay/Memoir; Eugene Zeng, Poetry; Gupta Satyen, Millburn Middle School, Science Fiction/Fantasy 

Honorable Mention:  Claire Joffe, Short Story; Amanda Kam, Short Story; Susan Kaufman, Personal Essay/Memoir; Amanda Prager, Poetry; Claire Tietze, Portfolio