Students shine at the 2026 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards

In the halls of the Harvard Natural History Museum, a small portion of the more than 150,000 beetles collected by banker and philanthropist David Rockefeller rests beneath glass. Each specimen is meticulously arranged to showcase its unique color, shape, and size, transforming each exoskeleton into art.

When junior Greta Haroldson stood before the rainbow of arthropods on display last winter, she didn’t know the exhibit would inspire an award-winning piece just a year later in Carmen Noel’s Art Foundations class.

"The theme of the project was 'something that is often overlooked,'" Greta said. "So the beetles were a bit of a pun, since they are, in life, hidden underfoot — but in the bug display, they were the opposite."

Her colored pencil drawing, "Pin-Up," builds on that thought. The title and the female eyes woven throughout the composition reference the pin-up girls of the 1940s and 1950s who, like the beetles, are “pinned” and put on display for their beauty. They are both, Greta explains, "similarly trapped for the sake of being viewed by someone else."

The piece earned Greta a Gold Key in the 2026 Scholastic Art Awards competition, one of four awards she won this year across four different artistic categories. She also picked up a Silver Key and two honorable mentions in the Scholastic Writing Awards for poetry and journalism. Since becoming eligible, she has entered the competition each year, garnering multiple awards along the way.

Greta is not the only Harpeth Hall student making waves in the art world.

Each year, students submit original works to the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards competition, which for nearly a century has “inspired bold ideas in creative teens” throughout the country. Young artists and writers can submit work in various categories to showcase their original art and written pieces, with graduating seniors having the additional option of submitting a portfolio. These categories include comic art, short story, painting, critical essay, and photography. In 2026, 64 students earned 95 awards, including a nomination for the prestigious American Visions award — a first for Harpeth Hall.

The American Visions award recognizes outstanding work from each geographic region of the Scholastic Awards. Jurors from each region may select up to five works as nominees, all of which must first earn a regional Gold Key. These nominated pieces are then reviewed by national judges, where one nominee from each region is ultimately selected to receive a national American Visions Medal.

This year, senior Addie Hardy's work, "Cerberus," was chosen from hundreds of qualified entries as a regional nominee. Depicting three hands representing the three heads of the mythological guardian of the Underworld in shadow, Addie’s piece showcases the creativity, technical skill, and personal artistic voice valued by the panel of jurors.

The 2026 Middle Tennessee Scholastic Art Awards exhibition will be hosted in Cheekwood’s Frist Learning Center. Gold Key works will be displayed, Silver Key works will be shown digitally, and students receiving honorable mention will be awarded a certificate. Gold Key-winning artworks will also go on to be judged in the national competition.

Congratulations to all of this year's award recipients!

2026 Scholastic Art Award

American Visions Award Nomination
Addie Hardy

Gold Key
Addie Hardy (two Gold Keys)
Greta Haroldson (three Gold Keys)
Hollis Riddick
Lily Stansell
Winn McNally

Silver Key
Adah Malone
Addie Hardy
Ally Barclay
Anna Reid Stansell
Gracie Meriwether
Greta Haroldson
Myla Anglin
Riley Molter
Sarah Porter

Honorable Mention
Addie Hardy
Ally Barclay
Ava Larsen
Emma Hurst
Fina Welhoelter (two honorable mentions)
Frances Brown
Gracie Meriwether
Helen Jane Thompson
Isla Hartmann
Kate Kesting
Kate Laborde
Lane Williams
Mary Martha Nord
Neko Mannes
Olivia Decastro
Reiling Hillenmeyer

2026 Scholastic Writing Awards

Gold Key
Anushri Ray
Audrey Harris
Ava Little
Cate Monahan
Ella Murphy
Iris Cotoman
Liddy McEvoy
Louisa Wang
Maliya Patel
Mary Moulton Ward (two Gold Keys)
Narcissa Broome

Silver Key
Anaya Dyson-Hill
Anna Brooks Ozburn
Anushri Ray
Audrey Harris (three Silver Keys)
Caroline Jennings
Cate Monahan
Charlotte Mikos
Greta Haroldson
Hadley Wimberley
Hazel Pua
Iris Cotoman
Lizzie Wimberly
Madison Goodman (two Silver Keys)
Maggie Meacham
Piper Petraglia
Sarah Fox
Sophia Huddleston
Sophie Hong
Taylor Gray Oliver

Honorable Mention
Aadhya Gattu
Abrielle Davis
Anna Brooks Ozburn
Audrey Harris
Ava Cupit
Becca Mantle
Cate Monahan (three honorable mentions)
Gracie Meriwether
Greta Haroldson (two honorable mentions)
Hannah Frohsin
Iris Cotoman
Iya El-Sayed
Katelynn Liu
Margaret Simmons
Mary Moulton Ward
Neko Mannes
Reese Borland
Ruby Mae Russell
Sara Huddleston
Shelby Tompkins
Sophia Rokas
Sophie Hong
Stella Corey