Help National Award Winner, Hannah Josefsen and Her Art Teacher, Kim Shefchik, Attend NYC Scholastic Award Ceremony.
Hello!!! I’m creating this gofundme to help raise money to be able to travel to NYC to attend an awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall along with my student Hannah and her mom.
I teach high school art in Negaunee, Michigan. This year, I encouraged 5 of my students to submit work to Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
4 of these students received recognition at the regional level. Of the 4 students, 4 Gold Keys, 2 Silver Keys, and 3 Honorable Mentions were awarded. The Gold Key artwork from the region then moved on to compete nationally.
Regional Gold Keys are earned by only 1% of the 300,000+ art entries entered to the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Of that 1%, only 5% of the Gold Key recipients receive National Medals.
Hannah is among that .05%, and has been awarded a Gold Medal! This is the highest award you can achieve. And that’s not all! Hannah was also awarded a National Visions Medal which is received for submitting the best artwork in the region according to national judges.
Hannah’s work (shown) is called “Fragments of Identity” and is a large oil pastel self portrait that represents the struggle with self-identity. It features multiple versions of Hannah’s face, each varying in clarity - some more realistic, others blurred and distorted. This ambiguity reflects the difficulty in pinpointing a singular, true version of self. The viewer is left questioning which, if any, of these faces represents the “real” Hannah, highlighting the fluid and fragmented nature of identity.
One of the many special things about the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is that the organization honors the educators who support the student artists. This means I am equally invited to Carnegie Hall alongside Hannah. I too will be honored with a medal. This is a wonderful career defining moment that I don’t want to miss.
The awards ceremony is being held at Carnegie Hall in NYC in June and I’d really love for all 3 of us to attend.
Living in the rural and beautiful Upper Peninsula is not without its challenges. One of which is traveling to a major city like New York.
Here is the tentative breakdown of costs:
3x Plane Tickets from KI Sawyer International Airport: $1500 ($500 per person)
1x Hotel Room: $1227 ($409 per night)
3x NYC Food: $630 ($70 per person per day)
NYC travel for 3 people: $143
That is why we are asking for $3500.
This is sticker shock for many of us living in the UP. The price of NYC is considerable. The hotel where all the events are held has a discounted rate for attendees, but it’s still $409 a night.
We plan to arrive Tuesday afternoon and return Friday as most of the events (including an educator breakfast, gallery opening, and awards ceremony) are Wednesday.
Any little bit helps, donations are certainly welcome and greatly appreciated. But I can offer more! If you donate $75 or more, if you’d like, I can repay you by letting you pick from a selection of ceramic necklaces or a $25 dollar gift certificate to Pine Run Provisions Bakery, which is owned and operated by Hannah’s mom. The necklaces are pre-made and available now. Thanks for considering.
Kim ❤️
Hannah in the News:
https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/2025/03/16/up-teens-win-regional-scholastic-art-writing-awards/
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