Maine College of Art & Design is pleased to be hosting both the Scholastic Art Award Competition and the Congressional Art Awards this year. Gold and Silver Key artwork will be featured in an exhibition at Maine College of Art & Design,March 1–March 16, 2024.
Opening Reception: MECA&D will be hosting an opening reception for the exhibition during Portland’s First Friday Art Walk on Friday, March 1st from 5–7pm. We hope you will be able to join us!
Awards Ceremony: All Honorable Mention, Silver, and Gold Key winnerswill be invited to attend the 2024 Maine Region Scholastics Art Award ceremony and reception onSaturday, March 16 from 10:30am–12pm. The ceremony will take place at Portland Stage at 25 Forest Avenue in Portland, followed by a reception at the Maine College of Art & Design at 522 Congress Street to celebrate these students’ tremendous work! *In order to prepare for your attendance, MECA&D asks that you RSVP by Friday, March 8th.Please RSVP hereand inform them of any accessibility needs by writing to[email protected]. Student artwork will also be able to be viewed online during the month of March through MECA&D’s virtual exhibition:https://www.meca.edu/info-for/educators/maine-region-art-awards/
Submission Information:
The Scholastics competition is open to 7th to 12th graders in all public, private, homeschooled and after school art programs. Students can compete in up to 17 different art categories. The Scholastics national website is loaded with a lot of very useful information, please take some time to go through it. The most important action you can take as an art educator to prepare for the competitions is visit the Scholastics website at www.artandwriting.org and register yourself as an art educator. Then encourage student artists who are interested in participating to register at the student level by visiting the same website; and register as a student. Each year, each art educator and each student has to complete a new registration form, even if they have registered in the past; since registrations do not carry over from year to year. The website contains some excellent information and I suggest that you explore its content and images.
Artwork submitted for the Maine Region Scholastics Art Competition should have been completed in the last year and reflect a student’s personal voice, technical skill, and originality. Please refrain from approving artwork that is copied, not original or work that you are not familiar with. Students submitting work must still be enrolled in a school in December and can not be a high school graduate.
The Congressional Art Competition (CAC) is supported by the Maine Arts Commission (MAC) and is in collaboration with the Maine Region Scholastics Art Awards. Artwork that qualifies for the CAC must adhere to certain restrictions. They are: open to high school students grades 9-12, must have been recognized in the Maine Region Scholastics Competition; as an Individual Silver or Gold Key Award, or a piece from a senior portfolio that has achieved recognition as Honorable Mention, Silver Key or Gold Key. Is on display at MECA during the time of the jury process. The art is limited to 2D wall hanging work that fits the size requirements of 36” x 36” including matt and frame; the frame can be no more than 3” thick. Work does not have to be framed to qualify; the CAC will frame the winning artwork; one piece from District 1 and one piece from District 2. The artwork is divided into 2 separate competitions based on which district the student lives in. District 1 students only compete with other District 1 students and District 2 students only compete with other District 2 students. To see the district map please visit Maine’s official website or here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maine%27s_congressional_districts.
The deadline for students to submit their completed online entries for the competition is in December.
Late submissions will not be accepted. It is encouraged to submit artwork as early as possible. The artwork submissions are all digital and are submitted through the national Art and Writing Awards website: www.artandwriting.org. Also, students are required to mail in their supporting paperwork which includes the signed student registration form and payment. This form is printed from the student registration page of the Scholastics website and must be signed by the student, the art educator and the parent. Parent signatures are optional if the student is 18 or older. The companion paperwork and fees are mailed to Maine College of Art; 522 Congress Street, Portland ME 04101. All checks must be made out to MECA. Please note that the website does have a fee waiver form for those students who would otherwise be prevented from participating due to their personal financial situation.
Individual art works can be digitally submitted by students in the 7th through 12th grades. Generally there are no limits to the number of individual submissions; with the exception of digital photography. Students can only submit up to 16 individual digital photography entries. Only seniors in high school can submit portfolios. Each senior may submit up to two portfolios. The submission fees are $5 per individual piece and $20 per portfolio. Students with financial need can obtain fee waiver forms which you; the art educator must approve through your signature. It is okay to send in one check to cover multiple students at the same school, program or family. There is no additional cost for artwork that is considered for the Congressional Art Competition.
If you have any questions, comments, thoughts, or funny stories please feel free to email them to me at [email protected].