HHS Students Win 22 Scholastic Art Awards

HHS is well known for its advanced art programs including ceramics and glass, and drawing and illustration. One opportunity that art students at HHS have is to apply for the Minnesota Scholastic Art Awards which is the highest art recognition for high school students.

The HHS art program earned 22 Scholastic Art Awards including four Gold Key (highest tier) awards, seven Silver Key (second tier) awards, and 11 Honorable Mentions.

Grant Cohen (12) earned a Gold Key award, a Silver Key award, and two Honorable Mentions. Cohen said, “The art program at Hopkins helped me to be successful and earn these awards because it starts with the basics, and as I got to higher levels I was able to be more and more creative and think outside the box for my projects.”

Ms. Bethany Henshaw, Drawing and Painting teacher at HHS, explains that although it’s not the goal of the art program to prepare students to win these awards, the art program provides students with experiences such as assignment variety and course variety to allow students to develop their artistic voice, adding personality to their art.

“I’m proud and happy for these students that are going on to win awards for their artwork,” Henshaw said, “These art students work hard and put a lot of time into their artwork to get these results.”

Cohen agrees, “I felt so happy that I earned these awards because it was super cool getting recognized not just by my friends but by an official board of judges.”

Students who received the Gold Key and Silver Key awards will have their pieces on display at the Regis Center for Art at the University of Minnesota from Jan. 30 to Feb. 17. The artwork that received Honorable Mentions will be displayed digitally. The Scholastic Art Awards Ceremony will take place on Feb. 17 at the Weisman Art Museum.

Having their pieces on display is something new for a lot of high school art students. Cohen says, “I’ve never had recognition like this before. When I went to go visit my pieces, it was surreal seeing my name on a little plaque next to my painting that was on display for everyone to see.”

Although students are being awarded for their artwork, this recognition isn’t the only thing the art program prepares art students for. “Art courses help students become well rounded students who develop an intense appreciation for persistence and an understanding of the time it takes to be successful,” described Henshaw.