Students Garner Art Honors

PRESS RELEASE/ Gwinnett County Public Schools

Five Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) students were invited to New York City this week to be honored for their artistic talents.

The students from Brookwood High, Mill Creek High, Peachtree Ridge High, and the Grayson High Technical Education Program are part of an elite group of 1,400 students from across the nation who were recognized in the 2012 National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards program.

The Gwinnett honorees and their teachers are:

• Emily Hudson, of , was awarded a gold medal for printmaking entitiled "Singer." Her teacher is Maria Thomas.
• Victoria Lee, of , was awarded a silver medal for a design entitled "Liberarse." Her teacher is Chris Vigardt.
• Isaac Kerns, of Grayson High Technical Education Program, was awarded a gold medal for photography entitled "Liquesce." His teacher is Carisa Griffin.
• Briana Achtman, of Mill Creek High, was awarded a gold medal for a drawing entitled "Day of the Dead Party." Her teacher is Mike Lasseter.
• Nahyun Chung, of Peachtree Ridge High, was awarded a gold medal for a drawing entitled "Obession." The student's teacher is Hope Steele.

Gold medals were presented to the creators of the most outstanding art pieces in this national competition. These five winning entries were among Gwinnett’s 49 regional Gold Key winners that were selected to move on to New York City for national adjudication.

National Award winners were invited to New York City to receive recognition on the country’s most celebrated stage – Carnegie Hall – as part of the annual National Awards Ceremony. The ceremony also included special guest speakers and performers, as well as the presentation of achievement awards to prominent past winners of The Scholastic Awards.

There are 30 categories in both the arts and writing sections of the competition.
Each student’s teacher is honored along with the student. As part of the honor,
recognized students are eligible for scholarship opportunities.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is administered by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, Inc. The nonprofit organization’s awards bring a national audience to the outstanding visual art and writing created by middle and high school students (grades 7-12) by showcasing their work and encouraging their creative journey and career development.

1,400 students from across the nation received national awards, of which many are selected to be displayed during a national exhibition. The Alliance also holds ongoing exhibitions at the U.S. Department of Education and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.