January 2009

For the third consecutive year Bannister Gallery is participating in the Scholastic Art Awards program as part of a College-wide imperative to be a more responsible community partner. The Rhode Island Art Education Association presents these annual awards to students in grades seven through twelve. The state is part of the eighty-one regions that participate in the program.

In 1992 the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, Inc., a nonprofit organization, was formed to administer art awards nationally and to include talented young artists regionally. More than forty-eight public, private, and parochial secondary schools in Rhode Island participate by submitting artwork to be judged. The top 200 pieces are awarded Gold and Silver Key Awards. Seventy-five Gold Key artworks are forwarded to New York for national-level judging. Last year, seven students from Rhode Island were nationally recognized.