Upper School students Josh Kurtz '13, Jennifer Lee '11, Olivia Lim '12, Stephanie Moon '13, and Hannan Oh '15,  were all recently honored by the 2011 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, hosted by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers . The national program is recognized as the one of the most prestigious recognition and scholarship programs for teenage artists and writers in the U.S. This year a record-breaking 12,000 works of art and writing were submitted.  Our D-E students awardees were as follows:

Joshua Kurtz: 2 Gold Key Awards
Jennifer Lee:  Gold Key & Honorable Mention Awards
Olivia Lim: 2 Gold Key Awards
Stephanie Moon: 3 Gold Key Awards
Hannah Oh:  Gold and Silver Key Awards

Since 1923, some of America’s most celebrated writers have been recognized by The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards while they were teenagers, including: Truman Capote, Bernard Malamud, Joyce Maynard, Sherley Anne Williams, Joyce Carol Oates, and Sylvia Plath.  Joshua Kurtz was recognized in 2010 for his poem "To Fear Oneself".  This year Josh submitted and was honored for his work in both poetry and persuasive writing.  Click here for an excerpt from Josh's award-winning poem, Society Unfolds Slowly. 

 

Brian Kosnik, D-E faculty member and Josh's English teacher, noted, "I speak on behalf of the entire English Department when I say that we are all proud of Josh. This is the second year that he has won a Gold Key award and we extend to him our sincere congratulations."

In art, Jennifer Lee received recognition for her work in painting, as did Olivia Lim, who had two acrylics that each received Gold Key recognition.  Mixed media works by Stephanie Moon and Hannah Oh were also among those recognized.  Stephanie was also honored for her work in sculpture.  All those who received a Gold Key Award in the Northern NJ Region were invited to display their works at The Montclair Art Museum, which officially opened on February 10 in the museum's Education Gallery, and is now on display through March 6, 2011. 

 

Gregg Emery, Chair of the D-E Visual Arts Department, commented: "The Visual Arts Department is extremely proud of this year's Scholastic Award artistic winners.  This recognition is a testament to their hard work, abundant creative curiosity and artistic ability.  Notably, being regional winners in such a competitive area of the country is an added honor for these young artists."

 

All literary and artistic pieces that received a Gold Key award at the regional level will now be forwarded to the National Scholastics Art and Writing Award for consideration for further recognition. National adjudication occurs in March with award ceremony and exhibitions the first week of June.