As you know, ART.WRITE.NOW. is our annual exhibition featuring work from national award-winning teens. This year we are showcasing more than 500 visual and literary works in New York City’s World Financial Center Courtyard Gallery. In addition, we have an exciting new project called the ART.WRITE.NOW. Atelier, located in the World Financial Center’s Winter Garden, where six alumni artists are currently producing new works of art in a storefront space for all to see!

Participating alums represent some of the most promising emerging artists in New York City and follow in the footsteps of other award winners like Andy Warhol, Richard Avedon, John Baldessari, David Salle, Joyce Carol Oates, Tom Otterness, Zac Posen, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote and Philip Pearlstein (to name a few!).

The Atelier artists are Winston Chmielinski, Adriane Connerton, Valerie Crosswhite, Justin Nissley, Mara Sprafkin and Max Vernon.You can view their progress daily by visiting www.artandwriting.org/atelier, where you can also bid on their works for a chance to take home one of these original creations. Proceeds of the auction go to the artists and to funding creative scholarships for the 2012 Scholastic Awards. These scholarships help the next generation of great artists pursue their dreams. Bidding closes on June 20.

If you’re in the New York City area, we invite you to visit the Atelier storefront as our alums create their work! See a map of where to find the Atelier as well as a schedule of when the artists are working, on the Atelier website.

Have a question for the artists? Tweet it @artandwriting using #AWatelier.

In the video below, Atelier artist Justin Nissley talks about how the experience working in front of an audience in the storefront differs from working alone in his studio.