So last week I kicked off the New Year by being one of several Jurors to adjudicate the 2025 Scholastic Art Awards for grades 7-12 in the Southern District region. This annual event was held at the Historic Estate in Nashville | Cheekwood Estate & Gardens which is set on a spectacular gardens and world-class art at our 55-acre historic estate.
Here are some notes on the adjudication process.
Process:
Jurors will adjudicate work based on three main criteria:
- Originality
- Technical Skill
- Emergence of a Personal Voice or Vision
All work is judged blind, without any knowledge of the artist’s demographic information. Therefore, each entry should be adjudicated based on its own merit and the three criteria above.
Each panel is comprised of 3 jurors and a moderator. I will be serving as the moderator this year unless otherwise specified.
Example Daily Schedule:
11:45 AM – 12 PM – Arrival at Cheekwood Estate & Gardens
12:10 PM – Review of expectations and juror guidelines
12:30 PM – Begin adjudication process starting with first panel
- Lightning round
- Honorable mention round
- Silver/Gold Key round
- Review final decisions
- Repeat until all panels have been adjudicated
5 PM – End of day
We judged over 350+ pieces of art.
I’m really grateful for the opportunity to be apart of this annual tradition that has Cheekwood has been participating in for the last 34 years.