Aadhya Ramineni ’19, Arts & Entertainment Editor

This year nearly 4,500 pieces of art from Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky were juried by a panel of 38 professional artists and writers. The judges selected 1,222 regional award recipients. Each artwork was judged based on three core principles—originality, technical skills, and emergence of personal vision or voice. Our students received 48 awards from the Regional Scholastics Competition. Among the photo winners are winners are 14 Honorable Mentions, 15 Silver Keys, 16 Gold Keys, and an American Vision nominee, myself. In the Writing Competition, two Gold Keys were awarded as well as one silver key.

Every year, five Gold Key winners are given an American Vision nomination. I am honored to have my photo chosen out of so many creative and beautiful works of art. The other four nominees from the region that will compete for the national American Vision Medal include schools such as Seven Hills for an architecture piece, Paul Laurence Dunbar for a digital art, Sycamore for a photo, and Wyoming for a fashion design.

Earlier this month, photo and art students had a field trip to the Art Academy to view their work in the regional scholastic exhibition. In addition to an exhibition showcasing all awarded work, there was also an award ceremony downtown. Winners were invited to the School for Creative and Performing Arts to receive their certificates on February 9^th. It was fun to meet talented young artists and view the creative artwork produced across our region.

Gold Keys and American Visions nominees will be judged in New York City. We are proud to have 19 works of art and writing sent to New York where an esteemed panel of judges will select national winners. Nationally recognized works will receive Silver or Gold Medals. One artist and one writer from each region will receive an American Visions and American Voices Medal. National Gold Medals and Visions winners will be exhibited in New York. National Winners will also be invited to an award ceremony held in Carnegie Hall with famous guest speakers such as Meryl Streep and Usher.

While CCD students submit many visual art pieces, many aren’t aware of the writing awards. This year Sylvia Nica ’20, won a Silver Key award for her prose piece “Up in The Air”.  Ruth Kramer ’18 won two Gold Keys awards for her poem, “Pink and Blue” and a short story entitled “Hair”. Ruth’s two Gold Keys will also be competing nationally for a medal. We hope more students are inspired to submit their writing to the competition next year.

Our community is home to gifted artists and writers and the Scholastics Art and Writing Awards give them an opportunity to shine. We are very proud of all the students excelling in the arts and humanities, and we encourage everyone to submit their work next year!

Please congratulate the winners. On March 13^th the national results will be released.

CCDS Regional Scholastic Writing Winners:

Gold Key Awards

Ruth Kramer (2)

Silver Key Awards

Sylvia Nica

CCDS Regional Scholastic Art Winners:

American Vision Nomination (highest honor)

Aadhya Ramineni

Gold Key Awards

Emily Gonzales

Shaan Dahar

Nathaniel Riemann

Samantha Brand

Riley Michalski

Abby Maggard

Miller Lyle (3)

Mia Masterson

Aadhya Ramineni

Bry Aquino

Sachi Bhati

Lenora Croley

Hannah Laird

Emily Ray

Silver Key Award

Radha Mangu

Liz Brock

Abby Maggard

Lily Farrell

Mary Harten (2)

Miller Lyle

Aadhya Ramineni

Nellie Shih

Katherine Valen

Maggie Wright

Liah Apatira (2)

Kaitlyn Hardesty

Hannah Laird

Honorable Mention

Enyi Li (2)

Grace Gilbreath

Isobel Hensley

Jordann Sadler (2)

Samantha Brant

Helen Kovach

Miller Lyle

Aadhya Ramineni

Kaity Travis

Katherine Valen

Bry Aquino

Alexander Kourie-Frias

Emily Ray