From the Vault: 90 Years of Parties!

by The Alliance //
1993 Scholastic Art Exhibition opening at Howard University
1993 Scholastic Art Exhibition opening at Howard University

By Haley Richardson, Scholastic Awards Archivist

This year’s Awards Ceremony at Carnegie Hall is shaping up to be the biggest celebration the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards have ever seen. With a sold out show and live streaming webcast of the event, there’s a lot to celebrate!

All of this got me thinking about the different ways in which the Awards have been celebrated through the last 90 years.

1936 Student Achievement issue of Scholastic.
1936 Student Achievement issue of Scholastic

Before celebrations were held at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Scholastic Art and Writing Awards winners were given shout-outs in Student Achievement issues of Scholastic, Literary Cavalcade, and Junior Scholastic, like the one pictured above.

Mozelle Thompson holds his award winning watercolor at the 1945 Scholastic Awards celebration
Mozelle Thompson holds his Award-winning watercolor at the 1945 Scholastic Awards celebration

As the Awards program grew, national Award-winning artwork was hung at Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, PA, the then-home of Scholastic, in addition to the smaller regional art exhibitions held earlier in the year.

Students pose at the 1958 Scholastic Art Exhibition opening.
Students pose at the 1958 Scholastic Art Exhibition opening

1958 was the first year the National Art Exhibition was held in New York City. In the years that followed, events would bounce around between New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Tampa, bringing the festivities to art lovers around the country.

By the 1990s, the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards were such a big deal that National Events had spread out to include many different kinds of activities, from awards ceremonies with celebrity speakers to craftacular events at prestigious art galleries to White House trips. The slideshow below is a collection of some of my favorite shots from recent National Awards ceremonies!

This year’s National Awards Ceremony will take place at Carnegie Hall in New York City on Friday, May 31, at 6 pm. The show is sold out, but you can watch a live webcast of all the excitement as it happens here!

And if you’re interested in learning more about the history of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, check out The Great Encouragement — you can even win a FREE copy of it on our Facebook page!