Congratulations to a group of talented Storm King School student artists who have been recognized by Scholastic for their outstanding work at the Hudson Valley regional 2024 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. The students will receive their awards at an upcoming ceremony to be held on February 2, 2024, at SUNY New Paltz and their art will be on display through February 25 in the college’s Fine Arts Building.
Dana X. ’24, who received a Silver Key award in the Film & Animation category for her short film titled “Tomorrow,” said that her work was inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth. “Gabriella, the main character in the story, was created based on my experience of jealousy and desire. I believe there is always evil in every human being, though in different forms. We are constantly trying to suppress the expression of evil, but we cannot deny its existence. If we let it out of control, bad things will happen, like in the film. However, it might be just an illusion, a dream, or a simple thought,” explained Dana. This short film was also an official selection for the Swedish International Film Festival, Catskill International Film Festival, SIFF’s 20th Anniversary, and Boston International Kids Film Festival. It also received an Honorable Mention from the Independent Shorts Award in Los Angeles and Best Young Filmmaker from the Gothamite Monthly Film Award.
Sid W. ’25 won a Gold Key award in the Digital Art category for his work titled “Alien Dissection.” According to Sid, his inspiration came from images he had seen of deep sea creatures that were discovered floating on the surface of the ocean or washed up on beaches. “They paint pictures of these animals, for instance the colossal squid, as being pitiful, ugly creatures. I have no doubt that [the colossal squid] would be awe inspiring in its natural habitat. This piece reflects that message–a creature that was probably dignified and beautiful brought up into the human world where it is left ugly and dissected,” Sid explained.
Storm King’s other winners included a self-portrait in the Drawing & Illustration category by 8th grader Cathy C. ’28 and comic drawings by Aitana G. ’24 titled “Model Skinny” which received a Gold Key award in the Comic Art category. “The inspiration for the comic stemmed from my frustration with female beauty standards and how unachievable they are. I wanted to create a sort of monster to embody my frustrations,” Aitana explained. In addition, Eva G. ’26 and Angelina C. ’24 received Honorable Mentions for their entries in Drawing & Illustration and Fashion.
The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in grades 7–12. Students from across the country submit nearly 350,000 original works each year in 29 different categories of art and writing including photography, painting, digital art, poetry, science fiction & fantasy, and others. The top student artists and writers at the regional level are then moved on to the national stage which will be judged in March 2024.
Winning a Scholastic award at any level is a noteworthy achievement and can play an important role while applying for college and future scholarships. Kudos to Aitana, Dana, Sid, Cathy, Eva, and Angelina for their excellent work!