On January 31, 2020, the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards regional winners were recognized all across the globe. From grades 7-12, 29 Tenafly students were awarded regional “keys” across the 29 categories of writing and arts. All works received by the judging committee were reviewed for personal voice, writing skills, and originality. Those works which are recognized for their particular level of skill are awarded either a Gold Key (given to the best works of the region), Silver Key (given to stand-out works of the region) and Honorable Mention (given to works with great potential).

Below are Tenafly’s 2020 Scholastic Arts and Writing regional winners:

Rebecca Beaver (’22)

Gold Key: Poetry – “Hopedust”

Ashley Hyun (’21)

Honorable Mention: Writing Portfolio – “Writing for My Sake”

Gold Key: Personal Essay & Memoir –  “Big Shoes to Fill”

Brenda Kim (’21)

Silver Key: Critical Essay – “The Epidemic of E-Cigarettes”

Claire Kim (’23)

Honorable Mention: Science Fiction & Fantasy – “Pray Or Prey”

Barbara Kluev (’21)

Honorable Mention: Poetry – “synesthete, The Golden State, Sonnet 2:In the Pharynx, Till 10/10, Testament to Isle”

Silver Key: Poetry – “4”

Chaeyoung Lee (’22)

Honorable Mention: Personal Essay & Memoir – “Realization of Injustice”

Michelle Lee (’21)

Gold Key: Short Story – “Nails”

Silver Key: Personal Essay & Memoir – “Why I Left You Unraveled”

Honorable Mention: Poetry – “get some rest”

Hyewon (Eunice) Park  (’21)

Honorable Mention: Personal Essay & Memoir –  Best Friend

Seryung (Seren) Park (’21)

Gold Key: Poetry – “evisceration”

Silver Key: Poetry  – “insufflation”

Silver Key: Short Story – Deicide

Silver Key: Poetry – “Astra Inclinant”

Silver Key: Dramatic Script – “Cleopatra Did Not Expect This”

Subin Pyo (’24)

Silver Key: Critical Essay –  School Voucher System: “Its Effects on the American Education”

Honorable Mention: Critical Essay – Progressivism: “Steps Toward a Better Future”

Gia Shin (’22)

Gold Key, American Voices Nominee: Journalism – “Shining a Light on the Dark Side of K-Pop”

Jonathan Tenenbaum (’21)

Gold Key: Poetry – “First Generation”

Kathryn Zheng (’20)

Honorable Mention: Writing Portfolio  – “now i know i am abc”

Silver Key: Poetry – “i stole your face the other day”

Honorable Mention: Poetry – “3:47 pm in beijing [july 2016]”

Honorable Mention: Poetry – “imagining my mother, young and beautiful, in beijing of 1989”

Honorable Mention: Poetry – “on the model minority tarot card in the beinecke rare book and 

manuscript library”

Amy He (’24)

Honorable Mention: Painting – “Choose your personality”

Angela Chang (’22)

Honorable Mention: Photography – “Twilight Rows”

Silver Key: Photography – “Into the Light” 

Brianna (Soobin) Kim (’20)

Gold Key: Painting – “Flower Path” 

Gold Key: Drawing & Illustration – Melting Chandelier

Silver Key – Painting – “Discontinuity”

Honorable Mention: Painting – “Hope”

Silver Key: Mixed Media – “If I were an Angel”

Honorable Mention: Drawing & Illustration – “IceCream”

Gold Key: Drawing & Illustration – Feminism 

Chantel Liang (’22)

Gold Key: Painting –  “What a Catastrophe!”

Chloe Lee (’24) 

Honorable Mention: Painting – “Ocean Canyon”

Honorable Mention: Painting – Flippin’ Free

David Kim (’24) 

Gold Key: Drawing & Illustration – “outing”

Do Eun Kim (’20)

Gold Key Painting – “Chamber of Dreams”

Silver Key: Fashion – “Bitter Sweet”

Honorable Mention: Painting – “Me Myself and I”

Honorable Mention: Fashion – “RBW”

Gieun Chae (’21)

Gold Key: Painting –  “Hidden Fears”

Honorable Mention: Photography – “Untouchable Light”

Grace Yin (’20)

Silver Key: Painting – “Serene (Self Portrait)”

Silver Key: Drawing & Illustration: “Vaccine Hysteria”

Honorable Mention: Editorial Cartoon – “Go Back (Trump’s Comments Toward ‘The Squad’)”

Silver Key: Painting – “Water Girl”

Gold Key, American Visions Nominee – Drawing & Illustration: “The Great Plastic Wave”

Honorable Mention: Drawing & Illustration – “Eye Sea You”

Silver Key: Sculpture – “Broken Child (Migrant Struggles)

Silver Key: Drawing & Illustration –  “Quick Self Figure”

Silver Key: Drawing & Illustration –  “Recline”

Silver Key: Drawing & Illustration –  “Self Figure as Scroll Painting”  

Silver Key: Drawing & Illustration –  “It’s Not Your Fault”   

Gold Key: Drawing & Illustration –  “Melting Self Portrait”   

Honorable Mention: Drawing & Illustration – “The Thinker”

Silver Key: Drawing & Illustration – “Miles Apart”

Silver Key: Drawing & Illustration – “Passive Self Portrait” 

Silver Key: Drawing & Illustration – “Late Night Self Figure”   

Silver Key: Art Portfolio – Personal Portfolio

Griffin Bloom (’20)

Gold Key: Sculpture – “ Lost (Part 1)” 

Gold Key: Drawing & Illustration –  “Lost (Part 2)”   

Honorable Mention: Drawing & Illustration – “3/4 (Self-Portrait)”

Gold Key: Drawing & Illustration – “Hit List”

Honorable Mention: Drawing & Illustration- “Portrait Dark (Self-Portrait)” 

Honorable Mention: Drawing & Illustration – “Claire”   

Silver Key Drawing & Illustration: “Brick and Clay Donut”   

Honorable Mention: Drawing & Illustration – “Crutch”   

Honorable Mention: Drawing & Illustration – “Squiggle”

Gold Key: Art Portfolio – Portfolio

Jejoon Park (’21)   

Gold Key: Drawing & Illustration – “Camino De Santiago”

Jinwoo Lim (’21)   

Honorable Mention: Drawing & Illustration – Loneliness

Honorable Mention: Drawing & Illustration – Reflection

Kuk Hyun (Will) Chi (’20)   

Silver Key: Mixed Media – Adaptation  

Gold Key: Mixed Media – Evolution

Honorable Mention: Painting – “Finial”  

Honorable Mention: Mixed Media – “Perfect Pair”

Honorable Mention: Mixed Media – “The Splattered Self”

Saima Kamal   

Honorable Mention: Photography – “Sweet Dreams”

Stephanie Song (’21)   

Silver Key: Drawing & Illustration – Curiouser 

Sukyung Kim (’20)   

Honorable Mention: Art Portfolio – “Warmth”

Second time regional winner Seren Park said on her awards: “I’m very happy that I got awards for my writing because I feel that the thought and effort I put into them were recognized. For me, the topics that I wrote about were important not just for their societal significance, but also for the meanings they have personally.”

Gia Shin was stunned when she saw that she not only received the Gold Key Award for two consecutive years but also was nominated for the American Voices Award. “I wasn’t expecting to win anything. Who would actually want to read through 10 pages of a fourteen year old talking about K-Pop?” said Shin on her piece “Shining a Light on the Dark Side of K-Pop.” Only five writers in each state are nominated for the American Voices Award, with one among the Special Achievement Award of the Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards. “To be granted such an honorable award means a lot to me; it means that someone is willing to listen to my voice. The media usually doesn’t cover the negative aspects of the glamourous K-Pop industry, and it took me several months of research before I had enough information to complete my piece. This award serves as an emblem of reassurance in a way, and I discovered that some people are willing to listen. I now know that through my writing, I can change the world even to the slightest degree.”

The winners of the North New Jersey Art Region and their teachers are invited to the award ceremony and reception on February 27, 2020 at Montclair Art Museum. The awards ceremony for the writing regional winner is yet to be announced. 

Gold Key winners now await for March when the results of the national round of winners are announced.  The achievements of Tenafly students in the arts and in writing tells this town that they can look forward to the future that these artists hold.