Discover this year’s standout young artists from the Bay Area
Honored by the Scholastic Art Awards, these students earned top recognition for work that is bold, thoughtful, and deeply personal.
The national Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are a prestigious opportunity for high school students to share their creative vision, earn meaningful recognition, and explore a future in art and design. Regional awards happen all over the United States, and this year California College of the Arts (CCA) served as the regional affiliate for the fourth and final year. Started in 1923 in New York, the national Scholastic Art & Writing Awards has recognized artists, designers, and performers such as Amanda Gorman, Ken Burns, Andy Warhol, and Lena Dunham.
From over 8,500 entries across 18 Bay Area counties, CCA is proud to award 406 Gold Keys to high school students who demonstrated a distinctive creative voice, originality in subject matter, and expertise in technical skill. These students will automatically be entered into the national Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and their work will be showcased at a pop-up exhibition at CCA from March 5 to 15. Five of these students have also been nominated for the American Vision Award. Additionally, CCA acknowledges the 539 Silver Key recipients and the 1,171 Honorable Mentions for their powerful and skilled work. Congratulations to every student who generously shared their work with our jurors!
“Every student who submitted work took a brave step by sharing their creative voice. We are proud to celebrate their achievements and honored to support them at this pivotal moment in their artistic journeys. The work we see from our award winning young artists gives us tremendous hope for the future of art and design. Their creativity, empathy, and curiosity signal a generation ready to shape what comes next.”
Senior Director of Youth Programs and Continuing Education
Each student recognized in the Bay Area Scholastic Art Awards brought a distinct point of view to their work, sharing strong ideas through thoughtful execution. The pieces featured here reflect how imagination, perspective, and craft come together across photography, mixed media, painting and drawing, sculpture, performance, digital work, and beyond.
This year’s top-honored works
Serena Yun
Leigh High School | Grade 12
Conceptual, Installation & Participatory Art | Orbit
"Made with After Effects, this video places my body at the center of a small galaxy, where planets made of specific memories and observations orbit and connect to me. As a highly sensitive person, I’m affected less by major events and more by the subtle details I can’t help but notice. Although planets appear large and distant, each one contains an intricate and vast world, mirroring the small, complex moments that continuously orbit me in my life. My exposed body, composed of floating organs and bones, reflects the vulnerability that comes with heightened sensitivity. Not only do the lines extending from the planets connect me to small details, but the bright web of veins emerging from my body also shows how these small memories accumulate. They can build into chaos, but they also form the force that drives my creativity and emotional world, reminding me why I continue to notice and hold onto these details."
Serena Yun, Orbit. Courtesy of the artist.
Jacob Mai Nguyen Glantz
Ruth Asawa Sota High School | Grade 11
Painting | Chinoiserie
Jacob Mai Nguyen Glantz, Chinoiserie. Courtesy of the artist.
Jiayang Dong
Leland High School | Grade 11
Comic Art | Jailbreak
Jiayang Dong, Jailbreak. Courtesy of the artist.
Daniel Oh
San Mateo High School | Grade 11
Film & Animation | Aware
Daniel Oh, Aware. Courtesy of the artist.
Ellis Yang
Los Altos High School | Grade 11
Drawing | Milk Teeth
Ellis Yang, Milk Teeth. Courtesy of the artist.