Fifteen Maine Township High School District 207 student artists received Chicago region Scholastic Art Awards this year, and some works will also be considered for national recognition, school district officials announced in a news release.
Collectively, the students earned 11 Gold Key awards, eight Silver Key awards and seven honorable mentions, and all Gold Key recipients’ work will be considered for national honors, the release states.
“This is our first year participating in the Scholastic art competition and we are incredibly proud to have so many students recognized for their outstanding artistic achievements,” Sarah Djordjevic, Fine Arts Department chair at Maine East High School in Park Ridge, told Pioneer Press via email.
Scholastic Inc. founder Maurice R. Robinson established the awards in 1923 as a division of the publishing company until the nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists and Writers formed in 1994 to manage the program, according to the organization’s website.
Seventh- to 12th-graders — students age 13 and older — who live in the United States, its territories or military bases, or Canada could submit work in 28 categories of art and writings, the website states.
From more than 560 award-winning submissions in the Chicago region, five received the American Visions nominee distinction reserved for best-of-show entries. Two of those five pieces were by Soren Lenzini and Nicole Scimeca, students at Maine South High School in Park Ridge, the release states.
One of these five pieces will receive the American Visions Medal at the national level, the release states.
Maine East awardees were senior Emilio Biviano, Gold Key Award – Drawing & Illustration; junior Viviana Gonzalez, Honorable Mention – Drawing & Illustration; senior Rebeca Savian, Silver Key Award – Painting; senior Palak Shroff, Silver Key Award – Mixed Media; and senior Faith Vo, Silver Key Award – Mixed Media.
Maine South awardees included sophomore Emma Brown, Gold Key Award – Drawing & Illustration; sophomore Sophia Cherone, Honorable Mention – Digital Art; junior Evangeline Feucht, Silver Key Award – Painting; senior Alekos Lagis, Honorable Mention – Drawing & Illustration; freshman Victoria Mieczkowski, Silver Key Award – Digital Art; senior Sofia Torina, Silver Key Award – Mixed Media; and senior Viktoriia Zavinska, Silver Key Award – Painting.
Other Maine South awardees included senior Soren Lenzini, five Gold Key Awards – Photography (one being an American Visions nomination), three Honorable Mentions – Photography and two Gold Key Awards – Portfolio (Art); and senior Nicole Scimeca, Gold Key Award – Film & Animation (American Visions nomination), Gold Key Award – Mixed Media and Honorable Mention – Portfolio (Art).
The awardee from Maine West High School in Des Plaines was junior Luiza Szerszenowicz, Silver Key Award – Drawing & Illustration.
“We have a strong tradition of excellence in the arts in District 207 and this accomplishment is a testament to the talent and dedication of our students,” Djordjevic said.
The national awards will be announced March 26 and exhibited during National Scholastic Awards Week from June 9 to June 13 in New York City, with an awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall, the release states.
The Chicago region awards ceremony and regional exhibition is on April 9 at Columbia College Chicago Student Center, the release states.
