The 2025 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, presented by the nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, are thrilled to announce their 102nd class of National Medalists. As the nation’s longest-running scholarship and recognition program for creative teens in grades 7–12, the Awards honor the most exceptional talents across a variety of categories including, Painting, Flash Fiction, Photography, and Comic Art, to name a few. Esteemed alumni of the program include Tschabalala Self, Stephen King, Kay WalkingStick, Amanda Gorman, Charles White, Joyce Carol Oates, Andy Warhol, and more.
This year, nearly 110,000 teens from U.S. territories, Canada, and every state in the nation participated in the Awards, entering more than 310,000 works for adjudication. Of the works entered, nearly 90,000 regional awards were presented to nearly 50,000 teens, and more than 2,800 works received National Medals.
Additionally, from the more than 7,400 portfolios that were entered into the Awards for adjudication, 16 portfolios earned the program’s highest honor, the Gold Medal Portfolio Award, which includes a $12,500 scholarship. Among the winners is the recipient of the inaugural Dorothea Tanning Portfolio Award, a newly established named award endowed by The Destina Foundation.
This year’s Gold Medal Portfolio Award recipients are:
Gold Portfolio Art:
- Austin Cohen, Dallas, TX
- Abbey Dickey, Mountain Brook, AL
- Obenewaa Frimpomaa, Millburn, NJ
- Lena Harnik, Hamilton, NY
- Jasmine Li, Fremont, CA
- Diego Mora, New York, NY
- Haneul Park, Ann Arbor, MI
- Peize Wang, Glen Allen, VA
Gold Portfolio Writing:
- Fairouz Bsharat, Chester, VA
- Anna Castro Spratt, Greer, SC
- Callum Chen, Flushing, NY
- Chantal Eulenstein, Ames, IA – (The Dorothea Tanning Portfolio Award)
- Lillian Hughes, Charleston, SC
- Jacob Jing, Denton, TX
- Emily Liu, Foster City, CA
- Tanya Rastogi, Bettendorf, IA
As one of the nation’s most prominent sources of scholarships for young artists and writers, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards offer teens opportunities to enter work for sponsored scholarships funded by individuals, foundations, and corporate partners. These unique scholarships honor teens for their creative achievements while shining a light on meaningful themes, including:
The Flaunt It Award: Developed in collaboration with Don't Hide It, Flaunt It and underwritten by Don't Hide It, Flaunt It (DHIFI, Inc), RBC Foundation USA, Morgan Stanley, and HP recognizes teens who look or feel different from their peers and share their personal story about what makes them unique. The Flaunt It Award includes a $2,000 scholarship for two teens and a $500 cash award for their educator. Winners were selected based on their outstanding exploration of DHIFI's theme: "The things that make me different make me, me." This year’s recipients are:
- Amanda Purther, New York, NY
- Nicole Scimeca, Park Ridge, IL
The Herblock Award for Editorial Cartoon: Underwritten by The Herb Block Foundation, the Editorial Cartoon category and Herblock Award celebrate the legacy of four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Herb Block and his remarkable contribution to American history and free expression. The three teen artists receive $2,000 scholarships for their outstanding drawings, illustrations, or animations offering commentary on current events or political topics, and their educators receive $500. This year’s recipients are:
- Emilie Allen, Washington, DC
- Lucy Bowers, Weston, MA
- Gabriella Olson, Richfield, MN
New York Life Award: Underwritten by the New York Life Foundation, this award recognizes ten teens with $2,500 scholarships for their work exploring death and personal grief, and their educators receive $500 awards. This year’s recipients are:
- Lucia Bolle, Bridgewater Township, NJ
- Ngoc Cao, Wellesley, MA
- Nell Choi, Washington, DC
- Izzy Fandl, Washington, DC
- Nola (Finn) Kennedy, Cincinnati, OH
- Daanya Khalid, Cypress, TX
- Tingting Luo, Basking Ridge, NJ
- Helen Popadic, West Palm Beach, FL
- Alyssa Wu, Pleasanton, CA
- Lillian Zhou, Hudson, MA
Additional awards and scholarships for teens are made possible through the support of Arison Arts Foundation, BLICK Art Materials, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Calvin Klein Foundation, Command Companies and the Merson Family, Destina Foundation, Derek Fordjour and Alexis Hoag-Fordjour, GV Group, Jill and Peter Kraus, The Maurice R. Robinson Fund, The New York Times, Dav and Sayuri Pilkey, Quad and The Windhover Foundation, and Hugh Roome, among others.
A celebration of all National Medalists will be held this June at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Congratulations to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards’ 2025 Gold Medal Portfolio recipients, Sponsored Award recipients, and all National Medalists!
Find out more about this year’s Awards on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn, and visit artandwriting.org for a full list of honorees.
