Henry Ford Academy receives 33 regional Scholastic Art Awards

Henry Ford Academy: School for Creative Studies (HFA: SCS) middle and high school students received 33 regional Scholastic Art Awards during an award ceremony at the Detroit Institute of Arts’ Detroit Film Theater on Feb. 11. This year, HFA: SCS won the most awards of any school in Detroit. Also presented at the ceremony were 2014 national silver medals won by Joshua Williams for his portrait “Synobia” and graduate Joshua Rainer for his painting “Peach and Avocado,” and a national educator medal to HFA: SCS art instructor Manal Kadry.
The 2015 Southeastern Michigan Region of the Scholastic Art Awards received 6,231 individual works of art from middle school and high school students and 250 senior portfolios, which were then judged in a blind process and selected for Honorable Mentions, Silver and Gold Key Awards, American Vision nominations, and Best of Show Portfolios. Gold. Key work is automatically submitted for national adjudication.
At a time when many schools have cut visual arts programs, all students at HFA: SCS, a tuition-free open enrollment middle/high school, engage in intensive art and design course work daily with curriculum and instruction developed in partnership with the College for Creative Studies. All seven HFA: SCS visual art teachers supported students who won a 2015 Gold Key, Silver Key or Honorable Mention. HFA: SCS students’ 33 individual awards include nine Gold Keys, 11 Silver Keys and 13 Honorable Mentions. The awards are spread across six different categories, including Sculpture, Drawing and Illustration, Digital Art, Comic Art, Photography, Mixed Media and Design:
Gary Brister- Gold Key / Sculpture
Joshua Butler- Silver Key / Drawing
Damon Chamblis- Gold Key / Digital Art, Silver Key / Digital Art, Two
Honorable Mentions / Digital
Naomi Cook- Silver Key / Comic Art, Honorable Mention / Drawing and Illustration
Rachel Fernandez- Two Gold Keys / Photography
Nia McKanders- Two Gold Keys / Drawing and Illustration, Honorable
Mention / Mixed Media
Asia Montgomery- Honorable Mention / Drawing and Illustration
Omari Norman- Silver Key / Photography
Morgan Parker- Honorable Mention / Design
Daniel Smith- Honorable Mention / Drawing, Honorable Mention / Comic Art
Branden Turner- Silver Key / Digital Art
Jaylen Tate Lucas- Gold Key / Drawing and Illustration, Two Silver Keys
/ Digital Art, Honorable Mention / Digital Art
Laura Vance- Honorable Mention / Design
Kayla Watkins- Honorable Mention / Drawing and Illustration
Joshua Williams- Two Gold Keys/ Drawing and Illustration, Four Silver Keys / Drawing and Illustration,
Honorable Mention / Digital Art
Quemani Williams- Honorable Mention/ Design
“We are proud of our HFA: SCS 2015 regional Scholastic Art Award winners and their dedicated
teachers. By attracting and developing our city’s top young art and design talent, and preparing them
for post-secondary education opportunities and dynamic careers, HFA: SCS is an important element of
the College’s mission to develop leaders in creative professions that shape society and advance
economic growth,” said Richard L. Rogers, president of the College for Creative Studies and chairman
of the school’s management board.
Artwork from the Southeastern Michigan Region of the Scholastic Art Awards will be exhibited through
Friday, March 6, 2015 in the College for Creative Studies Walter B. Ford II Building on the Ford
Campus.