Congratulations to Washburn Rural High School artists Clare Fallon, Noor Kyasa and

Lauren Ailslieger, recipients of National Gold Medals at the 2017 Scholastic Art &

Writing Awards.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the nation's longest-running, most prestigious educational initiative supporting

student achievement in the visual and literary arts.

Since 1923, the Awards have recognized creative teenagers from across the country. By receiving a Scholastic Art & Writing

Awards National Medal, these students join a legacy of celebrated authors and artists including Andy Warhol, Sylvia

Plath, Truman Capote, Richard Avedon, Robert Redford and Lena Dunham. More than 330,000 works of art and writing were

submitted by students in grades 7–12 this year. Clare, Noor and Lauren received 5 of the 12 Gold Medals awarded to Kansas students this year. Receiving a National Medal places them

inside the top 1% of all submissions nationally!

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Clare Fallon“Red, White, and Blue”

Gold Medal (Painting)

Clare Fallon“Tumbleweeds Ajar”Gold Medal (Painting)

Clare Fallon“The Impoverished Collector”

Gold Medal & American Visions Medal (Painting)

Future New Gold Medal RecipientsThe Future New Creative Challenge asks visual art students to produce boundary-breaking

creations that are conceptually or socially-driven and incorporate new materials andtechnologies as tools for innovation that break boundaries. Noor Kyasa and Lauren

Ailsleiger were recognized for the following site specific art installations.

Noor KyasaGold Medal (Future New)

Performance Based Art Installation

IB VISUAL ART INSTALLATIONBy NOOR KYASA

It’s an odd dinner table setting. I eat dinner with my family seven days a week, yet I have so many friends that hardly ever eat family meals. I urge you to see where you stand in this statistic: 47% of families with children under the age of 18 eat dinner at home together 4 to 6 times per week. Teenagers that tend to eat dinner less frequently with their families have a higher risk of getting eating disorders and consuming more unhealthy foods. This can also affect teenagers psychologically. Teenagers are more prone to depression, commitment to criminal behavior, drug use, and low academic achievements. I now value my family suppers so much more with this statistic. When I eat family meals at home, I get a chance to talk to my family about my day. This in turn strengthens my relationship with my family members.

The purpose of my installation is to hopefully bring awareness to a seemingly minor issue as well as bring more value to family relationships. The black monochromatic theme among the plates and objects represents the simplicity of the situation as well as the negativity of uncommon family meals. Each plate holds an object representing one of the risks: unhealthy diets (apple), depression (pill bottles), stress (clay), drug use (X), criminal behavior (mask), low academic achievements (scroll), and eating disorders (crochet piles). The plate at the head of the table carries a tree branch, which symbolizes the growth of family relationships. You may notice there is a person seated in front of that plate and their odd behavior. This individual’s behavior represents the disjunction many teenagers have with their families. With this installation, I hope to encourage my audience to consider building stronger relationships with their family members as well as appreciate those relationships.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/10336/empty-seats-fewer-families-eat-together.aspxhttps://www.human.cornell.edu/pam/outreach/upload/Family-Mealtimes-2.pdf

Lauren AilsliegerGold Medal (Future New)

Installation Art

IB VISUAL ART INSTALLATION

BY: LAUREN AILSLIEGER

We are pretty isolated here in Topeka, KS. Not in the sense that we cannot connect with others around the world, but isolation in terms of awareness and understanding. Syria has been fighting a civil war since 2011. Syria is controlled by the brutal, Bashar al-Assad, and has been infiltrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. This, accompanied with an area of the world that is predisposed to tensions and turmoil, makes for a deadly combination. 7 in 10 Syrians are struck in extreme poverty and 1 in 10 Syrians has been wounded or killed since the beginning of the war in 2011 (PBS). And 1 in 5 Syrians is a refugee (BBC). In addition to these staggering statistics, 28,277 civilians have died in shootings and mass killings, at least 27,000 civilians were killed in mortar, artillery, and rocket attacks, and at least 18,866 civilians have been killed by the Syrian government itself. The death and destruction occurring in Syria right now is mind boggling. In the U.S. the thought of the government using chemical weapons on its people is ludicrous, but in other places around the world, the possibility is very real. For this installation, I wanted to bring this crisis to your attention. Whether you know very little or have been following the war since the beginning, it is important to understand the consequences of it. For this piece, I sculpted five bodies and placed them in body bags. These are representative of the over 450,000 Syrians who have been killed in this war. Each of the 100 strips of the white fabric -- bandages -- represent 100,000 Syrians who have been forced to become refugees. This totals out to 10 million refugees. I chose white to symbolize peace. This goes for both the refugees seeking peace, and for the push to end the violence in Syria. I hope that this install is shocking to you and makes you realize the extent of the crisis in Syria. This should open your eyes to what it is like living in a warzone: walking to school, and seeing death all around you.