Recently, San Francisco’s California College of the Arts (CCA) opened its doors for its special guests: The gold and silver key winners of the 2026 Bay Area Regional Scholastic Art Awards. Inside the main building sat a buffet, stage, and art exhibition showcasing the awardees’ winning art pieces.
“For us, we’re really all about showcasing the work of young people. We see it as very empowering when students can create something meaningful and then share that experience more broadly with a wider audience,” said Dustin Smith, senior director of youth programs and continuing education at CCA.
Creating the Celebration
A blind jury composed of CCA faculty with advanced art degrees selects pieces that clearly demonstrate the three core criteria of the Scholastic awards: technical skill, craft, and originality. Of over 8,000 submissions, upwards of 2,000 students receive a gold key, silver key, or honorable mention.
“When people really dig into their craft and hone their craft, that’s where these magic moments are really coming out in their artwork. So our judges are really looking for those magic moments, whether it’s a dark magic moment, a light magic moment, or happy, or sad; so these pieces show the full range here,” said Smith.
Inspiring the Next Generation
Awardees express emotions and ideas through their work, some using photos for reference, others taking a more abstract or even philosophical approach.
“Through my piece, I was trying to achieve the message of conveying the importance of cultures and traditions, and emphasize the Asian native culture of Asian places,” said Jasmine Ji (‘28), silver key awardee from Quarry Lane in Dublin, California.
Faculty and staff members who have seen year after year of student submissions frequently notice popular themes that resurface every year, as well as unique perspectives that stand out.
“A theme that comes up every single year is identity, because I feel like young people–teenagers of all ages–are making art about how they feel and who they are. And I always see some scary stuff. I feel like there’s always a little bit of body horror and some surreal stuff happening, which also makes sense,” said Astra English, a gallery sitter for the exhibition.
The Mentality for Submitting
While many students were familiar with submitting to Scholastic, many more were new to the process.
“I was hoping I’d maybe win at least one award for my submissions because I just thought that would be nice, and I could use the certificate on college applications. I submitted for fun, so I was surprised because I didn’t think I would actually land an award,” said Chris Raponi (‘27), triple gold key awardee from St. Mary’s College High School in Albany, California.
However, about 6,000 out of 8,000 students didn’t receive an award. For an aspiring artist, this could feel like quite a letdown.
“Just remember that art is subjective and everyone has a different view. So even if you submit something and you don’t get anything, it doesn’t mean that your art is worth any less,” said Ji.
