SHS Art Student Earns Gold Medal in National Competition

The Simsbury Public Schools Department of Visual Arts is proud to announce that Simsbury High School (SHS) senior Lauren Potter has earned the top honor of a Gold Medal award during the 2017 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, a national art and writing competition.

In January the department announced winners for the 2017 Connecticut Regional Scholastic Art Awards. Each year, the Connecticut Art Education Association (CAEA) hosts this competition for students in grades 7-12 across the state of Connecticut. Artwork is submitted to a jury of professional artists, who choose the highest quality work. Each piece is awarded at a different level; students whose pieces won Gold Keys at the regional level had their artwork judged at a national level by a panel of professional artists in New York City.

Potter’s winning sculpture, entitled “Hippocampus,” was completed under the instruction of art teacher David Holzman. The sculpture will be on display in The Art.Write.Now National Exhibition in New York City at either Parsons School of Design or the Pratt Institute from June 2-12.

A national ceremony will be held on June 8 to honor students who have won Gold Medals. This event begins with a Maker’s Prom at the Roosevelt Hotel and continues with a ceremony at Carnegie Hall, which has included guests like Tim Gunn, Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, and Sarah Jessica Parker. Students will attend a Student Showcase, which will feature student talks, art-making workshops, open mic sessions, and film screenings