Fox Chapel students win at regional Scholastic Art Awards competition

Twenty-one Fox Chapel Area School District students won awards for their entries in the Pittsburgh Region of the 2026 Scholastic Art Awards.

Fox Chapel Area High School senior Nora Kelley won a Gold Key for her art portfolio titled “Lifetime of Beauty.” The portfolio included several pieces of original artwork. Additionally, Nora won six other Gold Keys and was also selected as an American Visions nominee for her drawing titled, “Marked Wisdom.” This honor is given to only a select few regional Gold Key winners and their pieces are considered to be among the very best of the submissions.

Other Gold Key winners were Fox Chapel Area High School seniors Claire Conti, Adele Grady, and Raina Guzman; sophomore Ella Shevchuk; and freshman Nathan Ko. All of the Gold Key winners will have their work sent to New York for national judging where they will be competing with other regional winners from across the United States for national awards. The winners of the national contest will be part of the Scholastic Art Awards National Exhibit.

The Fox Chapel Area Silver Key winners were seniors Raina Guzman, Riley Hemingray, Nora Kelley (four Silver Keys), Emma Kuhns (two Silver Keys), Akshay Lath and Joshua Murphy; juniors Brynn Gamblin and Nathan Ko (three Silver Keys); sophomore America Sakoian (three Silver Keys); and Dorseyville Middle School eighth-grader Samuel Ettinger (four Silver Keys).

The Fox Chapel Area Honorable Mention winners were seniors Claire Conti, Adele Grady, Auden Jacobson, Nora Kelley (three Honorable Mentions), Emma Kuhns (three Honorable Mentions), Akshay Lath (four Honorable Mentions), Elyse Ritchie (two Honorable Mentions), and Morgan Van Kirk; juniors Emily Kiro and Sadie Stephenson; sophomores Paulomi Goel (two Honorable Mentions) and Ottilie Happold; freshman Nathan Ko (two Honorable Mentions); and eighth-graders Margaret Davis (two Honorable Mentions) and Samuel Ettinger (nine Honorable Mentions).

Students from schools from across the greater Pittsburgh area participated in the regional competition. The award winners were selected by a panel of distinguished judges which included artists, art educators and art professionals.

The artwork of the students was on display at Carnegie Mellon University’s Hall of Fine Arts February 25-March 7. The Fox Chapel Area students were honored, along with the other winners, at a special ceremony March 7 at Carnegie Mellon University’s Kresge Theater.