Old Main Hosts Writing and Art Ceremony

On Feb. 26, the South Dakota Scholastic Art and Writing Awards ceremony was held in Old Main. This year marked the 100th year of the awards with 100,000 teenagers from the United States and Canada entered over 300,000 pieces of art and writing.  

Every year, high school students have the opportunity to share their artwork and writing. These students submit artwork and writing to their Scholastic region and are awarded based on their submissions. 

Scholastic is a part of The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.

According to Cheyenne Marco, the South Dakota region coordinator, this is a good opportunity for young artists in the state.

“This program helps support young artists and writers around the nation, but more specifically, our state,” Marco said.

This event covers students across the entire state of South Dakota, so the artwork and writings that were recognized at the ceremony were all submitted by South Dakota students. 

“We are putting South Dakota on the map and showing what we have to offer, by showing that our artists are just as important as any other state,” Marco said. 

There are three different types of awards for students, these include the Golden Key, the Silver Key and Honorable Mentions. The Golden Key is the highest available award; students who win this award are automatically considered for the national awards. 

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards were founded in 1923, and since then they have recognized young artists and writers across the country. At this year’s ceremony, they invited the novelist Ukamaka Olisakwehe to be the keynote speaker. 

“It will be amazing for students to hear from an accomplished writer to help inspire them,” Marco said. 

As a nationally recognized award, this is a great opportunity for high school students in the region to show what South Dakota is and who they are. 

“Encourage high school students you know to sign up. These people could be your classmates in the future and help support the next generation of writers and artists,” Marco said.