Upper School 2025 Scholastic Arts Award Recipients

Four Sandy Spring Upper School art students are the recipients of Scholastic Art Awards this year. 

As shared in the communication to the award winners, “The students’ work was reviewed and recognized by a panel of creative professionals, and awarded for its outstanding merit in originality, skill, and the emergence of a personal voice and vision… Since 1923, the Awards have recognized some of the nation’s most celebrated artists and writers while they were teenagers, including Tschabalala Self, Stephen King, Kay WalkingStick, José Parlá, Amanda Gorman, Charles White, Joyce Carol Oates, and Andy Warhol. We are proud to count your students among these esteemed Scholastic Art & Writing Awards alumni!”

Cecilia Gang ‘26 was awarded the Silver Key in Painting for her work titled "Unleash What Remains." According to the artist, “Unleash What Remains is a piece inspired by the Hindi goddess Kali who signifies death and rebirth. My painting depicts a demonic version of myself lifting in one hand my own severed head. I was inspired by traditional artworks from the 1800s that force you to focus on the subject, conveying the strength of the subject through intentional coloring and composition. I used modeling paste to create a texture that increased the complexity of the piece. This work is my interpretation of letting yourself be free and unafraid to be faced against darkness and uncertainty. My demon self is protecting my seared head’s brain from further corruption from society, raising her sword to protect her from harm. This piece allowed me to explore my culture, the Indian components of me as a tri-racial girl. I learned that to be free is to explode on the canvas.”

Michelle Cui ‘26 was awarded an Honorable Mention in Architectural and Industrial Design for her work titled “Smart Public Umbrella." Michelle writes, “This project is a model for a Smart Public Umbrella that can be placed in public spaces, such as parks. It can raise and lower the sunshade cloth according to the changes in sunlight, thus intelligently providing people with a cool resting space.”

Kieran Liftik ‘25 was awarded two Honorable Mentions for their photographs titled "Observatory at Night I and II." The artist writes, “Here, I wanted to express that we have only uncovered a small part of our universe, and through technology like the James Webb telescope we can discover more. I wanted to capture the vastness of our universe and was inspired by the fact that there are more stars in our sky than grains of sand on earth. This photo is part of a set (1/2) and was taken at Cornell University's Fuertes Observatory.”

Lluc Zara ‘27 was awarded an Honorable Mention for his photograph "Growing Mushrooms." The artist states, “To create my photograph, Growing Mushrooms, I explored the question, 'How can I, as a photographer, show people the overlooked details of nature using cool tones, shallow depth of field, bugs-eye view, and diffused lighting?' Through my journey as a photographer, I’ve learned to identify different points of view and angles, and lighting that highlight the subject.”