The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards’ national office in New York City is dedicated to growing and supporting our Affiliate Partners across the country. Our Affiliate Partners are doing great work in their communities, and we love hearing about their outreach efforts, their students, and their programs. This month, we shine the spotlight on the Tulsa Community College School of Visual and Performing Arts, which manages the Oklahoma Region of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Here’s what the Oklahoma Region had to say about Awards activity in their region:

For more than a decade, Tulsa Community College (TCC) has been proud to be the Oklahoma Regional Affiliate for the Scholastic Art Awards for the entire state of Oklahoma. For the last three years, we have had more than 129 schools participating in the Scholastic Awards representing public, private, and home school students. There are 77 counties in Oklahoma. The state is also broken down into regions: Red Carpet Country, Green Country, Frontier Country, Choctaw Country, Chickasaw Country, and Great Plains Country.  All these regions are represented in the Scholastic Art & Writing competition.

Prior to TCC taking on the Affiliate position, The University of Tulsa’s Art Department was the Oklahoma Regional Affiliate with Instructor and Oklahoma artist Virgil Lampton at the helm. We are pleased to still have Virgil as one of the current Oklahoma Educators, who continues to participate and encourage the youth and artists of tomorrow.

In the past three years, students in the Oklahoma Art Region submitted more than 4,800 individual art entries and more than 280 senior portfolios.

The Oklahoma Art Region has worked with jurors who are nationally and internationally recognized artists, including: Jo Lynch, Eleanor Carmack, Erin Rappleye, David Varmecky, Jenny Bradley, Steven Rosser, Kristal Tomshany, Mike McRuiz, Ken Wood, Rhonda Davis, William Derrevere, Don Emrick, Cynthia Marcoux, Justin Renyer, Janet Duvall, Chris Ramsay, and Kelly Kerr.

Our regional Oklahoma sponsors include Tulsa Community College, Tulsa Community College Foundation, Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa and Ziegler Art & Frame. Our regional sponsors have helped make our local program a success.

In late January, the educators or a school representative bring in any student artwork that has been requested to the TCC Center for Creativity, where our Setup/Dismantle Team will prepare the exhibit for visitors and guests. The Gold Key Art Exhibit is up for approximately two and a half weeks for public viewing.

In mid-February, the Silver Key and Gold Key Recipients, their educators, and guests come to view the exhibit and participate in the annual Awards Ceremony and Reception held in their honor with door prizes provided by Ziegler Art & Frames and the TCC Metro Campus Student Activities.

Many Silver Key and Gold Key recipients and their educators, family, and guests travel to Tulsa for the Silver Key and Gold Key Awards Ceremony and Reception.

After the Ceremony, we begin taking down the exhibit and prepare the artwork for student pick-up.

We are pleased to work with wonderful individuals such as the judges, our different team members, the Oklahoma educators and, of course, the students of Oklahoma.

We congratulate all of the students on their achievements with the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards as well as all of their future art endeavors.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are proud to work with organizations like Tulsa Community College School of Visual and Performing Arts to help talented students receive recognition for their creative efforts. By partnering together, Tulsa Community College School of Visual and Performing Arts and the Scholastic Awards give our youth the support they need to become lasting members of their art and writing communities.