Layla Wilke-Conant

The Scholastic Art Awards is a regional awards competition for eager young artists in Nebraska. There are thousands of pieces submitted each year, ranging from paintings, to ceramics, and even to charcoal drawings. They are then put through a panel of judges who go through every piece to narrow down their awards into three categories: honorable mention, silver key, and gold key. Students who receive gold at regionals, then go to nationals. This year, Marian had eight students win one of these titles. 

Junior Nora Coffey earned honorable mention for her mixed media piece “What is Real?” Her piece is “inspired by the increasing amount of virtual reality and technology that is showing up in our lives. It presents an awesome online place to immerse ourselves in, but also takes us away from being present in the real world and seeing the struggles our planet is facing,” Coffey said. She describes her piece as full of contrast, dynamic and surreal. It tells a story about the world we live in today.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards acknowledge young artists for their hard work and motivate them to expand their hobby by giving them more creative opportunities. “It is something I enjoy doing, so it’s nice to know other people enjoy my art, too. I think the recognition I have gotten for this will inspire me to keep creating and sharing my artwork in the future, and, more specifically, in pieces that make a statement,” Coffey said.

Another program that recognizes high school artists is the Nebraska Young Artist Awards. They award students in their junior year of high school for their talent in art, music, dance, theater, or film and emerging media. This year, juniors Elizabeth Buescher, Rory Wright-Kent, Nika Kouassi, and Mary Puccioni were recognized. They attended an immersive experience into the arts at UNL on April 3. Here, vocalists Nika Kouassi and Rory Wright-Kent got to participate in a vocal master class taught by UNL professor Suna Gunther. They also learned about the new music building projected to finish construction in 2025 and were given an automatic $1,000 scholarship to UNL for their freshman year. 

“Congratulations to everyone who submitted a work and the winners of both of these awards. Everyone wish good luck to senior Bridget McGill and sophomore Sofia Bostrom, who were given the Gold Key Scholastic award and will be going to nationals!” Mrs. Ashley Bauer, Marian’s art teacher, said.