Rivers Writers and Artists Garner 26 Awards

Rivers’ students earned honors for artwork in both 2D and 3D media arts categories in the competition, including ceramics, sculpture, photography, and printmaking. Writing awards were in the poetry, personal essay/memoir, short story, and science fiction/fantasy categories.

 

Sixteen students received a total of 19 art awards, including seven Gold Keys, five Silver Keys, and seven Honorable Mentions, with three multiple winners. Joelle Mentis ’18 received two Gold Keys in printmaking for “Wrinkled Thoughts” and “The Underrepresented.” David Freedman ’17 received two Silver Keys in printmaking for “Flux Face” and “Portrait of Seamus.” And Frank Ferrara ’17 received two awards in ceramics—a Silver Key for “The Tides” and an Honorable Mention for “Bottle.”

 

Additional Gold Key recipients were: Madeleine Foley ’22 in photography for “Bug on Blueberries,” Alex Klein ’18 for his photograph “Anticipation,” Isabel Silvia ’18 in sculpture for “Multifaceted,” Emily Smith ’18 in ceramics for “Lettuce Share,” and Hunter Taylor-Black ’18 for her photograph “Spatial Grace.”

 

Aidan Byrne ’17 received a Silver Key in ceramics for “Black Waves,” while Isabel Hardy earned a Silver Key for her photograph “Together.” Honorable Mention recipients were: Elizabeth Baldini ’17 for “Liquid Portal” (photography); Noah Harrison ’18, “Ark” (ceramics); Caleb Leeming ’19, “States of Matter” (sculpture); Ellie McCarron ’21, “Know Idea” (photography); Leslie Swartz ’19, “Grandma Lost Her Marbles” (sculpture); and Abi Warwick ’19, “The Phoenix” (printmaking).

 

“It is wonderful that many of our student artists were recognized for their creative expression in a diverse range of media from both our Middle School and Upper School divisions,” said David Saul, Chair of the Visual Arts Department. “The Scholastic Art Awards is one of several opportunities our students have to submit their artwork to competitions beyond campus and be honored for their creative vision in the studio arts.”

 

Five students won a total of seven writing awards—three Gold Keys, three Silver Keys, and one Honorable Mention—with two students receiving multiple awards. Sophie Jacobs ’18 received a Gold Key in science fiction/fantasy for “The Ballad of the White King” and an Honorable Mention in personal essay/memoir for “Fifty Reasons Not to Kill Myself.” Bethany Pasko ’19 won two Silver Keys, for a short story entitled “12 Years: A Death Row Story” and a poem, “The Star of David.”

 

Apsara Balamurugan ’20 received a Gold Key for a memoir entitled “8,500 Miles Closer,” Isabel Hardy won a Gold Key for “Stolen Moments: A Collection of Poems,” and Ashley Burgarella ’18 won a Silver Key in science fiction/fantasy for “For the Advancement of Society.”

 

“It’s exciting to see that an increasing number of our students are pursuing creative writing projects independently and taking the initiative to submit work to writing competitions,” said English Department Chair Mac Caplan. “The number of awards they received this year is a testament to both their creative talents and their mastery of the writing process. We hope that departmental programs like the ninth grade honors seminar and our writing electives are helping students with their creative pursuits.”

 

The Boston Globe, which has sponsored this competition for many decades, will host a celebration for Gold and Silver Key winners at the Museum of Fine Arts on March 11, 2017. Gold Key work will be forwarded digitally to New York to compete against all the other Gold Key winners from around the country for National Medals.