The National Scholastic Art Awards ceremony for the Eastern/Central North Carolina Region is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, at 1:30 p.m. in Wilson Gymnasium on the campus of Barton College
WILSON, N.C. — December 19, 2017 — Barton College will welcome students from across the state to celebrate their creativity at the annual Scholastic Art Awards ceremony scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, at 1:30 p.m. in Wilson Gymnasium. This marks the 40th year that Barton College has served as host and regional sponsor for the National Scholastic Art Awards for the Eastern/Central North Carolina Region. The featured speaker for the awards ceremony is Bob Rankin.
Following a reception for Gold Key and Silver Key awardees and their families in Wilson Gymnasium, there will be an awards presentation for the award recipients beginning at 2 p.m. The ceremony is open to student Gold Key and Silver Key recipients, their families, and North Carolina arts teachers and principals. The Scholastic Art Awards Exhibition will be available for public viewing in the Barton Art Galleries beginning January 29, 2018.
Entries from all 50 states are submitted in the nationally renowned Scholastic Art Awards program. The program, created for middle and high school students, is designed to encourage student achievement, to recognize and applaud our fine art teachers and to emphasize the importance of the visual arts in the school curriculum. Barton College is proud to host the Eastern/Central Regional District in North Carolina, representing 62 counties from the Piedmont to the Coast.
Dr. Gary Daynes, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Barton College, and Mark F. Gordon, director of The Eastern/Central North Carolina Region of The Scholastic Art Awards Program, will bring brief remarks during the program. Jane Sibley-Hager of the Scholastic Art Awards Regional Teacher Advisory Committee will present special awards to student recipients.
The Scholastic Art Awards entries for the Eastern/Central North Carolina Region are reviewed by professional art jurors at Barton College during the first week of January. This year, more than 3,000 entries are anticipated. Students submitted artwork in a variety of categories, including: architecture, comic art, ceramics & glass, digital art, product design, drawing, fashion, film & animation, jewelry, mixed media, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, video games, and art portfolio. Jurors are charged to select entries that they consider especially worthy of recognition.
The Eastern/Central North Carolina Region has an advisory committee composed of nine art teachers. This year, the exhibition selection jury is composed of college professors, retired public school art teachers, and professional artists. In addition to Gold Key and Silver Key portfolios, there will be a significant number of Gold Key and Silver Key awards presented. These artworks will be displayed in the Barton Galleries.
Images of these finalist art works will be sent to New York City for judging against other regional winners for the national exhibition held in June at Parsons School of Design and the Pratt Institute.
Honorable Mention Awards will also be chosen and listed at www.barton.edu/scholastics.
From the Gold Key artworks, the jury will also select works for additional awards to be presented at the ceremony including five American Visions Nominees, as well as special regional awards including the Edward C. Brown Award, The Wilson Times Award, the North Carolina Art Education Association Award, the Jurors’ Choice Portfolio Award, the Emerging Visions Award , the Governor’s Student Excellence Award, and the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park Recycled Materials Award.
The exhibition of Gold Key and Silver Key artworks will run from Jan. 28 – Feb. 22 in the Barton Art Galleries located in Case Art Building. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. and by special appointment. For additional information, please contact Mark Gordon at mgordon@barton.edu or call 252-399-6559.
About the Speaker —
The National Scholastic Art Awards played an integral part in Bob Rankin’s decision to pursue a career as a professional artist/art educator. While a student at Broughton High School, Rankin found out on the same day that he had been rejected from Governor’s School of North Carolina and that he had also won two Gold Key awards and a National Hallmark Award in the Scholastic Art Awards competition. He decided, then and there, that art was always going to be a major part of his life.
Rankin graduated from East Carolina University and dedicated his life to his work as a professional artist and art educator. He taught for 30 years in Wake County high schools, and his passion for teaching earned him the Sanderson High School Teacher of the Year as well as North Carolina Art Education Secondary Art Educator of the Year. In addition to his high school teaching career, Rankin also has had to opportunity to lead workshops in Italy and Australia.
In fact, Rankin made a commitment to himself to take at least one international trip a year. His travels have included over 45 countries to date, and some of these adventures abroad have had a major impact on his teaching and artwork. From skiing on the Tasman glacier in New Zealand to scuba diving in Fiji, from parasailing in St. Tropez to hiking through the jungles of the Congo to see the last remaining mountain gorillas, from hot air ballooning over the Serengeti to camping in the world’s third largest cave in Vietnam, he has been able to draw from a wide range experiences and environments to inspire his students.
Rankin’s artwork is represented in collections across the globe, including collections England, France, Italy, Morocco, Nepal, India, and Australia. Also, he has been represented by more than 15 galleries in the United States.
Honored with a variety of awards during his professional career, his recognitions include but are not limited to: the North Carolina Secondary Art Educator of the Year, the Raleigh Medal of Arts, the East Carolina University Distinguished Alumni of the Year, the Raleigh Hall of Fame, and the Wake County Public Schools Stars of Education.
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