Congratulations to Ava Kurtz, ’24 and Avery Caldwell, ’26, who are national medalists in the 2024 National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Ava Kurtz won a Gold Medal for her work, Seeing Things Clearly, a digital painting from her emotionally powerful, autobiographical, sustained investigation of almost 20 works titled, The Asian American Experience. Additionally, Kurtz’s work, Fine China, a digital painting also from her series of works, The Asian American Experience, is featured in the 2024 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards National Ceremony. Avery Caldwell won a Silver Medal for her work, Ocean Life Tea Set, an innovative, composite ceramic work that combines both sculptural and functional elements in response to the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals’, Goal 14, Life Below Water, which aims to conserve and sustainably use the world’s ocean, seas and marine resources.

Ava Kurtz, Seeing Things Clearly, digital painting, National Gold Medal, 2024 National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
Founded in 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious scholarship and recognition program for young artists and writers in grades 7-12. Works in 28 categories are judged nationally by the foremost leaders in the visual and literary arts for excellence in originality, skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. This year, more than 110,000 students entered nearly 340,000 original works of art and writing to the 2024 Scholastic Awards. Less than 2,500 works received a National Medal, which places the work of Solanco artists, Ava Kurtz and Avery Caldwell within the top tier of all entries!

Ava Kurtz, Fine China, digital painting, featured in the 2024 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards National Celebration
Christopher Wisniewski, Executive Director of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the nonprofit organization that presents the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, said: “This year, we saw nearly 340,000 works submitted to the program and felt the honesty, authenticity, power and beauty in the work. Teen artists and writers continue to push the boundaries of their creativity and create discourse on the issues and topics most important to them. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have always strived to recognize the creative potential of our nation’s young artists and writers by providing them with a platform to explore and experiment, and it has been incredible to see how this year’s class of National Medalists has articulated their creative visions in such intriguing and novel ways. We are proud to honor them with this recognition.”

Avery Caldwell, Ocean Life Tea Set, earthenware, National Silver Medal, 2024 National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
Solanco Visual Arts Department Chair, Candace Rakers, said that “Ava and Avery can be especially proud of this distinguished achievement as 2024 National Medalists. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are open to submissions from young artists residing in the United States, U.S. territories and military bases, and Canada, which makes the competition widespread and increasingly fierce. In the regional 2024 Scholastic Art Awards and Lancaster County Young Artists Awards, Ava and Avery won the highest awards. Ava won an unprecedented 37 awards—which includes both individual awards and portfolio awards—breaking two Solanco records and a record for the entire Lancaster County Region. Avery won two individual Gold Awards. As 2024 National Medalists, the award-winning work of Ava and Avery will be published in the Online Galleries at artandwriting.org and included in the 2024 Scholastic Art &Writing Awards Yearbook. Additionally, along with the work of National Gold Medalists, Ava’s Gold Medal work, Seeing Things Clearly, will be featured in the 2024 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards National Exhibition at the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in November 2024. This is an extraordinary honor for these
National Medalists to have the opportunity for their work to reach a global audience both online through the esteemed Scholastic Art & Writing Awards program, and through on-site exhibition at the Met, which is the most prestigious, largest art museum in the U.S., and most highly attended of any museum in the U.S. On behalf of the entire Solanco community, I extend my enthusiastic congratulations to both Ava Kurtz and Avery Caldwell. Their personal artistic vision, passion, sense of purpose, commitment, perseverance, and outstanding quality of work distinguish them as most deserving recipients of this phenomenal honor as 2024 National Medalists in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.”
Ava Kurtz and Avery Caldwell join the ranks of outstanding Solanco young artists, who have been honored with 27 national awards in the visual arts since 2001. Congratulations, again, to Ava Kurtz and Avery Caldwell, Solanco’s 2024 National Medalists in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.