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AboutScholastic Art Awards

Maine Region Scholastic Art Awards

Congratulations to the Gold, Silver, and Honorable Mention award winners in the 2025 Maine Region Scholastic Art Awards Competition!

Award Winners List

Thank you to our 2025 Scholastic Art Competition Jurors

Since 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards have recognized the vision, ingenuity, and talent of our nation’s youth, and provided opportunities for creative teens to be celebrated. The competition is the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious recognition initiative for creative teens.

Maine College of Art & Design is pleased to be hosting the Scholastic Art Award Competition, Congressional Art Awards, and Maine Excellence in Arts Education Awards this year. By submitting work to Scholastics, qualified pieces are automatically considered for the other two competitions, based on individual competition guidelines. For complete details on student eligibility, competition categories, jury criteria, important dates and deadlines, scholarships, and more, please see below for more details and/or artandwriting.org.

Maine students are invited to submit creative and original work to any of the Awards’ eighteen creative categories, including architecture, photography, sculpture, comic art, painting, video game design, fashion, and more. At each level of judging, all works are selected to move on to the next stage based on the same three criteria that have represented the program since its founding in 1923: originality, technical skill, and emergence of personal vision or voice.

The Congressional Art Competition takes place each spring, when the Congressional Institute sponsors a nationwide high school visual art competition to recognize and encourage artistic talent in the nation and in each congressional district. Since this competition began in 1982, more than 650,000 high school students have participated.

Maine Excellence in Arts Education Awards is a statewide student art showcase where award-winning students exhibit their work at the State Capitol Complex.

Scholarships for Winning Scholastics Entries

Maine College of Art & Design is pleased to award scholarships to winning student artists at the Regional and National levels for all states. All scholarships are renewable every year and are applied toward the cost of attendance at MECA&D.

  • National Scholastic winners: $2,500 per year
  • Regional Gold Key winners: $1,500 per year
  • Regional Silver Key winners: $1,000 per year
  • Regional Honorable Mention winners: $500 per year

Accepted BFA students must submit proof of award in order to receive scholarship funding toward the cost of attendance at MECA&D's Bachelor of Fine Arts program. MECA&D will award the scholarship level based on the highest award a student has achieved while in high school.

Accepted Pre-College students must submit proof of any award in order to receive a $500 scholarship toward the cost of attendance at MECA&D's Pre-College program, a three-week summer program that takes place every July.

How to Apply to the BFA Program

How to Apply to Pre-College

Scholarships for Winning Congressional Awards Entries

Maine College of Art & Design award scholarships to student artists who receive Maine Congressional Art Awards. All scholarships are renewable every year and are applied toward the cost of attendance at MECA&D. Congressional awards are awarded in addition to Maine Scholastic Award scholarships.

  • Congressional First Place winners: $1,000 per year
  • Congressional Second Place winners: $500 per year
  • Congressional Third Place winners: $500 per year
  • Congressional Honorable Mention winners: $500 per year

Accepted BFA students must submit proof of award in order to receive scholarship funding toward the cost of attendance at MECA&D's Bachelor of Fine Arts program.

Steps to Enter (Entries are now closed for the 2025 Awards)

1. Sign up

Create an account at portal.artandwriting.org to submit your work. Click here to watch a video on how to create an account.

2. Create and Upload Your Work

The Scholastic Awards look for work that demonstrates originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. After you have created your work, you can upload it to your Scholastic Awards Account. Once you have logged in, follow the instructions to upload all of your submissions into the system.

Every category has specific requirements so please read the guidelines and category descriptions carefully. Click here to watch a video on how to upload your work.

Submission Fees

Fees are $10 for Individual Submissions and $30 for Portfolio entries.

Submission fees can be submitted online in the Scholastic portal. Click here to watch a video on how to pay for entries.

If you need to pay by check, please make it out to Maine College of Art & Design and send to:

Maine College of Art & Design
Attn: Maine Region Scholastic Art Awards
522 Congress Street
Portland, ME 04101

Dates & Deadlines

The digital submission deadline is Sunday, December 15, 2024.

Regional and National Awards

Regional — Gold Key

The very best works submitted to local programs. Gold Key works are automatically considered for national–level recognition.

Regional — Silver Key

Stand-out works submitted to local programs that demonstrate exceptional ability.

Regional — Honorable Mention

Accomplished works submitted to local programs showing great skill and potential.

Regional — American Visions & Voices Nominees

Five works, from across all categories and grades, are selected from those earning Gold Keys as the “Best-of-Show” for each local program as nominees for the American Visions & Voices Medals.

National — Gold Medal

The most outstanding works in the nation.

National — Silver Medal

Works demonstrating high honors on the national level.

National — American Visions & Voices Medals

One work from each local region, from the five American Voices & Visions Nominees, will earn an American Visions & Voices Medal.

National — Gold Medal & Silver Medal with Distinction Portfolios

Seniors with outstanding portfolios are recognized with Gold Medal Portfolio and Silver Medal with Distinction Portfolio Awards. These honors include scholarships.

National — Special Achievement Awards

Additional awards and scholarships are presented through the support of Scholastics sponsors.

Student Eligibility

Public, private, or home-school students in the U.S., Canada, or American schools abroad enrolled in grades 7–12 (ages thirteen and up) are eligible to participate in the Scholastic Awards. Students can compete in up to 18 different art categories.

Judging Criteria

Originality

Work that breaks from convention, blurs the boundaries between genres, and challenges notions of how a particular concept or emotion can be expressed.

Technical Skill

Work that uses technique to advance an original perspective or a personal vision or voice, and shows skills being utilized to create something unique, powerful, and innovative.

Emergence of a Personal Vision or Voice

Work with an authentic and unique point of view and style.