2025 Scholastic Art Regional Award Winners Announced

Each year, students across the country submit writing and art pieces to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards program, the nation’s longest-running, largest, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens. For over 100 years, the awards have recognized and encouraged artists and writers such as Andy Warhol, Robert Redford, Ken Burns, and Zac Posen. 

Student artists from North Hills Middle School, Bloomfield Hills High School, and International Academy Okma campus received regional recognition for their artwork. Judges in the Southeast Michigan and Thumb region receive thousands of entries each year, approximately 20% of which make it into the exhibit and receive one of three regional awards: gold key, silver key, or honorable mention. All regional gold key winning portfolios and individual artworks are sent to New York to compete for national awards. National winners will be announced later this spring.

Dylan Psenka (grade 12, BHHS) won two special awards: the American Visions Award (one of the top 5 in the region,) and a Best of Show portfolio award. When asked about these accomplishments, Psenka stated, “The Scholastic competition has been an incredible opportunity for me. Not only has it given me immense confidence in my artistic abilities, but it has also allowed me to share my vision with a wider audience. My work dissects the chaos of a world torn between progress and destruction. I take apart forgotten machines and rebuild them into intricate systems that expose how we bulldoze nature, exploit resources, and force technology into places it doesn’t belong. From invasive species to environmental decay, I create sculptures that confront the damage we try to ignore—because nothing stays hidden forever. Art has been a powerful tool for me throughout my years at BHHS, giving me a way to express complex emotions and engage with critical issues. As I continue my education at RISD or University of Michigan (STAMPS), I hope to push my work even further, challenging the way we perceive the intersection of nature, technology, and human impact.”

The Southeast Michigan and Thumb Regional Scholastics Art Exhibit will run from February 9 - 28, 2025 at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. The exhibit is open from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 12 - 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. An award ceremony will be held at the historic Detroit Film Theater at the Detroit Institute of Arts on Monday, February 10, 2025.

Congratulations to these creative artists and their teachers Tessa Basirico, Matt Beauchamp, Laura Harris, Peg Pasternak, and Christina Rayburn on their regional awards. 

 

Gold Key Art Portfolio and Best of Show Portfolio:

BHHS: Dylan Psenka (grade 12): A World Worth Saving

 

Gold Key Art Portfolio:

BHHS: Sage Booth (grade 12): The Roots, The Bloom: Consequences

 

Silver Key Art Portfolio:

BHHS: Brody Oleshansky (grade 12): Discovering Human Faces Through an Unconventional, Cubistic Lens

BHHS: Mia Wraith (grade 12): Waves

 

Honorable Mention Art Portfolio:

BHHS: Sarah Gaines (grade 12): Personal Still Life

BHHS: Max Hom-Snider (grade 12): Beauty of Abandonment

 

IA-Okma: Alex Najera (grade 12): Expression

 

American Vision Award:

BHHS: Dylan Psenka (grade 12): Deep Sea Sanctuary

 

Gold Key Individual Category in Art:

BHHS: Sierra Anthony (grade 12): Innerworkings

BHHS: Athena Atchoo (grade 12): Nana Vicky

BHHS: Dylan Psenka (grade 12): Crochet Motif Blanket

BHHS: Dylan Psenka (grade 12): Rewired Roots

BHHS: Dylan Psenka (grade 12): Ecosystem Malfunction

BHHS: Dylan Psenka (grade 12): Deep Sea Sanctuary

BHHS: Andrew Siu (grade 12): I Miss You

BHHS: Andrew Siu (grade 12): The Shame in [Fe]eeling

 

IA Okma: Yunjia Gan (grade 11): Ephemerality

 

Silver Key Individual Category in Art:

BHHS: Sierra Anthony (grade 12): Splice

BHHS: Mark Asmar (grade 12): Cool Headed

BHHS: Sage Booth (grade 12): The Birth Myth

BHHS: Sage Booth (grade 12): The Wild Chase

BHHS: Jordyn Goldstein (grade 10): Skull

BHHS: Anna Kohl (grade 12): Lobster Cutlery

BHHS: Dylan Psenka (grade 12): Glow of the Deep

BHHS: Jared She (grade 10): Silent Reverence

BHHS: Ashley Shulkin (grade 10): In the Shadow of Regret

BHHS: Ashley Shulkin (grade 10): Lost in the Lure

BHHS: Andrew Siu (grade 12): Deadline

BHHS: Mia Wraith (grade 12): Fungi

BHHS: Mia Wraith (grade 12): Metamorphosis

 

NHMS: Evie Dale (grade 8): Anxiety

 

Honorable Mention Individual Category in Art:

BHHS: Sage Booth (grade 12): Sticks of Young Heroes

BHHS: Lillian Bujoll (grade 11): Shepherds

BHHS: Sarah Gaines (grade 12): 12-Nov

BHHS: Reid Gaunt (grade 9): Invaded and Infected

BHHS: Anna Kohl (grade 12): Camel Tray

BHHS: Birdie Parker (grade 12): Spike

BHHS: Constantin Schenke (grade 12): What Remains

BHHS: Ashley Shulkin (grade 10): The Light We Seek

BHHS: Ashley Shulkin (grade 10): Where Shadows Cannot Reach

BHHS: Cole Whiting (grade 11): Destination

BHHS: ChoCho Yi (grade 12): For E.W.

 

IA Okma: Josette Nelson (grade 10): It's "U.S"

 

NHMS: Hana Kitagawa (grade 8): Troll Mug