Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School Students Announced as 2022 Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Award Recipients

The Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa has announced the regional award recipients of the 2023 Scholastic Art awards. Presented by the nonprofit organization, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the country's longest-running and most prestigious scholarship and recognition program for creative students in grades 7–12. For the past 100 years, the Awards have recognized and encouraged artists and writers such as Sylvia Plath, Andy Warhol, Truman Capote, Robert Redford, Tom Otterness, and Zac Posen, among countless others.

This program year, more than 350,000 works of art and writing were submitted to 100 Affiliate regions across the country. As one of the largest national affiliates, the Belin-Blank Center of the University of Iowa adjudicated over 7,000 pieces of art and writing from the Iowa and Midwest Regions. Creative teens from Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Kansas, Missouri and Ohio received regional honors, including Gold Keys, Silver Keys, Honorable Mentions. Gold Key artworks works automatically advance to national judging. National Awards will be announced on March 22, 2023.

On February 7, we celebrated our Scholastic Art Award recipients with a Mighty Mac cart ride through our hallways! Congratulations to these exceptional artists!

Gold Key Award Winners

• Matty Salgado '23 in Photography for her work titled “History”
• Meagan Callahan '23 in Digital Art for her work titled “Digital Self Portrait”
• Lily Ryan '23 in Mixed Media for her work titled “Nightmare” 

Silver Key Award Winners

• Ava Martin '23 in Digital Art for her work titled “Monster on The Bed”
• Maura McCluskey '23 in Digital Art for her work titled “Self Portrait Reflection” 

Honorable Mentions

• Olivia Villasenor '24 in Digital Art for her work titled “Fragmented” 
• Isabella Bersell-Bonny '23 in Photography for her work titled “Solarized”
• Caroline Murphy '24 in Painting for her work titled “Portrait Painting”
• Mairead Doran '23 in Drawing and Illustration for her work titled “Let’s Play a Game”
• Mairead Doran '23 in Painting for her work titled “Self Portrait” 
• Ava Martin '23 in Digital Art for her work titled “Mutant Insect” 
• Ava Martin '23 in Digital Art for her work titled “Scary Cat”
• Esmeralda Escarpita '23 in Mixed Media for her work titled “Family Unit” 
• Kiara Marini '23 in Painting for her work titled “Monster Rock” 
• Kiara Marini '23 in Digital Art for her work titled “Shades”