The walls of the Metropolitan art museum are waiting to be filled with your creative ambition. At this year’s nationwide Scholastic Art Competition, artists and writers go head to head for the chance of earning a scholarship of up to $10,000.

IB Art teacher Tamara Ottum introduces students to the upcoming Scholastic competition. ¨[It provides] scholarship opportunities. Students get to have an art show downtown and I’ve had a student go to New York and they walked across the stage at Carnegie Hall,” said Ottum. This artshow is a chance for anybody to earn an opportunity of a lifetime.

Students looking to enter can submit their artwork online here or through one of the head art teachers Ottum, Daley, or Graves. An MHS art teacher will sponsor you throughout your submission and take professional photographs of your work. 

All participants must pay a seven-dollar admission fee and if you are under 18 you must have a parental guardian signature. Students can submit art from now until December 2021 or January 2022 depending on the region you live in. Upon winning, you may earn either a bronze, silver, or gold key. Gold keys and some silver keys win prizes that can include scholarships to any college of your choice. Those who did not win a key can still earn an honorable mention and recognition on the event’s website. 

Past winner Anna Kim gives us some insight into her submission process and her experiences as a whole. “It was an easy admission process because I already had an account so I just had to upload my work,” Kim said. 

When asked why she decided to upload work and compete in the competition, she replied with the fact that she did not have much to do while at home so she decided to submit a piece of artwork for fun. Kim has been doing art for over five years, but her drive for creating art decreased due to Covid and being unable to go to in-person art class. This competition allowed Kim to reignite her creativity while sitting at home during the pandemic. Kim received honorable mentions in the competition

“Don’t be discouraged by honorable mentions if that is what you receive because it’s still something,” said Kim. She will not be competing in the Scholastic Art Competition this year but encourages others to do so. 

It’s important to share unique glimpses into our imagination, especially in this past year where we’ve been limited with ways to communicate our art and writing. If your creative spirit has been locked up during this pandemic, the Scholastic Fall Art Gallery is the perfect opportunity to share your passion with the world. 

You can find more information at https://www.artandwriting.org/.