St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School senior Bella Sun recently received the Gold Medal and Silver Medal for art submitted to the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the nonprofit organization that presents the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Bella received the Gold Medal in the Architecture and Design category for “A Breathable Flower shop” and the Silver Medal in Sculpture for “Rotate”. Both pieces were created under the guidance of SAS art teacher Osei Hill. Bella, a boarding student from Shanghai, China, will attend the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in the fall. RISD is considered to be one of the top five art schools in the United States.

Nearly 340,000 works of art and writing were submitted to the 2019 Scholastic Awards. Bella’s work was selected by some of the foremost leaders in the visual and literary arts for excellence in originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. Fewer than 1% of the submissions received recognition.

Since 1923, the Awards have celebrated teen artists and writers from across the country. Past award recipients have included artists Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana, and Kay WalkingStick; writers Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, and Joyce Carol Oates; and filmmakers Lena Dunham and Ken Burns.