Above, an image from the photography portfolio: Santa's Real Helpers by Jerry Sheng '20

Santa’s Real Helpers, Jerry Sheng’s series of photographs submitted in the art portfolio category for the 2020 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, was selected for a gold medal alongside fifteen other winners in the art portfolio and writing portfolio categories from a pool of more than 110,000 students who submitted nearly 320,000 works of art and writing. Sheng’s photos were installed in the Main Building hallway earlier in the academic year and initially won a gold key designation at Scholastic's state level competition in Connecticut. 

The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, presents the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards to teenagers with exceptional artistic and literary talent work and gives them exposure to a national audience. Established in 1923 by Maurice R. Robinson, the founder of Scholastic Inc., the Awards are the longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teenagers across America and the largest source of scholarships for young artists and writers. National submissions were judged by leaders in the visual and literary arts for excellence in originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. Sheng joins a list of notable alumni award winners including Tschabalala Self, Stephen King, Kay WalkingStick, Charles White, Joyce Carol Oates, and Andy Warhol. Read the complete list of 2020 national portfolio winners here.

Sheng’s photography education at Hotchkiss and his dedication to it has rewarded him with a mature artistic vision. From his first humanities photo class as a lower mid with instructor Ann Villano, to his advanced explorations and portfolio development with program director Greg Lock, Sheng’s willingness to commit to artistic inquiry has propelled him. He will attend MIT in the fall and notes, “Without any doubt, photography has now become an essential way for me to document and interact with the world. I love photography as it enables me to observe the diversity and nuance of the world through my lens, and shows me the beauty and essence of human stories. My camera is my trusted companion, helping me capture and preserve each moment in pixels.”

Due to the pandemic, the national award ceremony will be held virtually in June. Sheng has been featured on the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Twitter account and blog. His winning photography portfolio is named the The Harry and Betty Quadracci Art Portfolio, after the Wisconsin philanthropists and avid supporters of the arts. Betty Quadracci served on the board of trustees of the Milwaukee Art Museum for many years, where she was instrumental in engaging the Italian architect, Santiago Calatrava to design the museum's Quadracci Pavilion, which opened in 2001.