Program areas at Alliance for Young Artists and Writers
Scholarships and awards:the Alliance manages the scholastic art & writing awards, a national recognition program for creative teens (grades 7-12, ages 13 and up) who excel in art and writing, serving approximately 320,000 students annually. Awards are given in 29 categories, ranging from short stories and journalism to painting and photography. Approximately 90,000 awards are distributed regionally through partnerships with 100+ affiliate partners, including colleges, universities, museums, and educational organizations, which adjudicate works and host local award ceremonies and exhibitions. Top works advance to the national level. Approximately 2,700 awards are distributed nationally by the Alliance, which adjudicates work and hosts the national ceremonies and exhibition, and publishes select student art and writing in national publications. In addition, the Alliance offers close to $300,000 in direct scholarship awards, ranging from $500-$10,000 to more than 100 students, and partners with select higher-education institutions, which earmark and additional $5,000,000 in scholarship funds for students who have received an award.
Student art exhibitions:in collaboration with its affiliate partners, museums, community centers, galleries and other institutions, the Alliance curates, produces and tours exhibitions of select award-winning works by students throughout the country. These exhibitions present students with the opportunity to share their work; enable host institutions to attract new audiences to their premises; and expose the public-at-large to student voices and works by teenagers.
Publications:the Alliance recognizes students' accomplishments and showcases their works in wide range of publications that are distributed nationally to an audience of educators, students, educational and arts organizations, leaders in the field, and other supporters. These include the annual yearbook, best teen art, best teen writing, and national student poets' chapbook, among others. In addition, publications are featured online at the Alliance website, artandwriting.org, which also features an online gallery of the most recent awarded works.
National student poets progam; student workshops and pre-college summer programs; residencies for educators and alumni; and microgrant programs for alumni.