Many seem to look past the importance of art and writing as a benefit toward humankind, but not this organization: the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, Inc. So you need your geneticists of the world, doctors of the world, engineers of the world, politicians of the world; this organization, however, believes the world needs art in all its glory–whether you’re a painter, sculptor, poet, or screenwriter, or any other interesting medium (which there are now maybe a dozen different forms of ‘art’). In fact, the Alliance believes in this so much that they offer a scholarship that to this day hails as the most prestigious award in academics involving art and writing.
It’s called the Scholastic Art & Writing Award, and it can pay as much out as $1 million to a gifted student of the grades 7 through 12. That’s, as you can imagine, more than enough to pay for any tuition!
The Award is, of course, a competition with 10 writing categories and 16 art categories–such as painting, drawing, mixed media, printmaking, photography, computer graphics, video/film/animation, architecture and environmental design, graphic design, product design, ceramics and glass, jewelry and metalsmithing, textile and fiber design, short story, “short” short story, essay/nonfiction/editorial/journalism, drama, poetry, humor, and science fiction/fantasy. As a participant, you create a portfolio to send–whether in art ot writing–fill out the application and send it by the deadline.
It’s an important scholarship, because art is important to the human mind. For general purposes, you can recognize art also as writing given the form of expression. Art is expression. And the ability to express oneself is crucial to the development of the mind, heart, and soul–and that, thusly, is the heart of the educated individual.
Know that if you have a child between grades 7 and 12 who has an innate desire to express feelings, images, or beliefs through the use of art, explore this scholarship for yourself. Check out the web site ArtandWriting.org/Awards/HowTo for more information.