Franchesca Vilmenay ’22 Wins the Scholastic Art and Writing Gold Medal Portfolio Award

This past spring, Franchesca Vilmenay ’22 was presented with Scholastic Art and Writing’s highest honor, a Gold Medal Portfolio Award, for her photography portfolio titled “Figure Form Fabric.”

Every year the Alliance of Young Artists and Writers presents the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Since 1923, the Scholastic Awards have been the longest-running and most prestigious awards for creative youth in the United States. Thousands of teens ages thirteen to eighteen submit their art and writing portfolios in hopes of receiving some form of recognition. Students are first recognized and awarded on a regional level. If they receive a gold key, the highest regional award, their work is evaluated again at which point they may win national recognition. The highest, and most challenging to receive, form of national recognition is the gold medal portfolio award which is awarded to only a handful of students in the nation. This year there were 22 winners (11 for art and 11 for writing), one of them being Franchesca. National winners were invited to Carnegie Hall; gold medalists were recognized on stage and received a scholarship. 

“I’m pretty sure, statistically, that this is a once-in-a-career happening for a teacher, and I’m so glad that I got to have this amazing experience with Franchesca,” said Sara Macaulay, head of visual arts at Winsor.