[People are visiting the pop-up exhibition. Photo Credit: Yujun Lee]

California College of the Arts (CCA) hosted a special pop-up exhibition of award winners of the Bay Area Regional Scholastic Art Awards from March 26th to March 30th, 2025.

The exhibition operated with regular admission from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the general public between March 26th and 29th. March 30th was a special admission for award winners, their families, and educators, along with a special closing celebration.

Artworks from 163 students in 7th grade and above in the San Francisco Bay Area were exhibited.

The Bay Area Regional Scholastic Art Awards, from which the displayed artworks were nominated from, is a region under the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

The pop-up exhibition featured artworks of award winners who were available and willing to display their work.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, founded in 1923, is the longest-running and one of the most prestigious art and writing awards in the nation held annually.

Every year, students from grade 7 to grade 12 submit thousands of artworks and writings.

For the 2024 school year, more than 110,000 students across the United States and Canada entered more than 340,000 art and writing works.

Recognized works among all submissions of each region are awarded Gold Key, Silver Key, Honorable Mention, as well as the American Visions Award, given to five exceptional works per region.

Submissions that earn a Gold Key are considered for national awards, where exceptional works receive awards such as Gold Medal, Silver Medal, and scholarship awards.

This exhibition hosted by the CCA featured artworks that received Gold Key and Silver Key recognition in the California Bay Area Art region, where CCA serves as the regional partner in art.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are managed by the nonprofit organization the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, which receives submissions through four art regions and four writing regions across the nation. 

Moreover, there are organizations that manage each specific region as well.

Including the general regions under the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, there are 91 art regions and 48 writing regions across the United States and Canada.

Within the California Bay Area Art Region managed by CCA, around 2000 art entries were submitted, with around 350 winning Gold Key. 

On the last day of the special pop-up exhibit, the closing ceremony was held from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

To begin the ceremony, the speaker first talked about CCA and the programs it offers.

Next, the speaker had Silver Key and Gold Key winners come to the front and receive a pin as an award.

Then, the speaker announced the five American Visions Award nominees: Donghyun Han, Blayke Woods, Grace Xie, Yuvika Jain, and Jane Liou.

Among the five, two of them, Jain and Liou, attended the ceremony and were given time to speak as student speakers.

Especially for Liou, she not only was nominated for the American Visions Award in the Bay Area Region, but also earned recognition as a national winner, with her artwork, “Jamais Vu.”

Talking about her work in her speech, she explained, “my inspiration for this piece came when I was reflecting on my visit to my hometown Hong Kong last summer”

She explained the unfamiliarity she felt from the visit to a familiar setting.

After the student speakers, the speaker also distributed pins for educators.

As the closing ceremony was over, participants were able to take their artwork home, ending the pop-up exhibition.