The Mississippi School of the Arts Visual Arts students recently received awards in the prestigious Regional Scholastic Art Competition hosted by The Mississippi Museum of Art.

Students from Copiah County receiving awards included Natalie Roper, visual arts senior from Hazlehurst, and Joshua Hamilton, visual arts senior from Wesson. Roper received one Silver Key, and Hamilton received two Honorable Mentions.

They were just two of MSA’s winners. In total, MSA took home an American Visions Award (for best in show), nine Gold Keys, 11 Silver Keys and 13 Honorable Mentions.

The work of the young artists receiving Gold and Silver Keys will be on display at the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson through April 12 as part of the exhibition for the Scholastic Art Awards Competition.

The Mississippi Museum of Art hosts the Mississippi Regional Competition each year. Students from middle, junior high and senior high schools from across the state participate in the competition each year. More than 2,000 entries in a wide variety of categories are judged by a panel of judges over a course of several days.

The Scholastic Art Awards have celebrated 80 years as a unique presence in our nation’s classrooms by identifying and documenting outstanding achievement of young artists. Since 1923, 12 million students have participated, 2 million young artists and writers have been recognized, and $20 million in awards and scholarships have been made available nationwide.

The Mississippi School of the Arts is an eleventh and twelfth grade visual and performing arts residential, public high school located on the historic Whitworth College campus. Students not only meet the traditional Mississippi high school curriculum, they receive special instruction in visual arts, vocal music, dance, literary arts and theatre. Students interested in MSA apply their sophomore year. Last year’s graduating class received over $5.8 million dollars in college scholarship offers

For more information visit our website: www.msa.k12.ms.us or call 601-823-1300.