SVA has the top showing of works selected for the 2014 Society of Illustrators Student Scholarship Competition with a whopping 37 winning entries, more than any other college in the running. 
Winning works are selected by a jury of professionals based on the quality of technique, concept and skill of medium used, and are currently on view at the Museum of American Illustration through May 31.
BFA Illustration faculty member Jillian Tamaki, who for the last year has served as chair for the Society of Illustrator’s annual show, writes on her blog, “The best young artists are seeking to define their careers on their own terms. I see this in my students at the School of Visual Arts. For better or worse, they are not content to be someone’s hired hands. They desire to be professionals, yes, but not to create work that only ‘solves the problem’—it must be meaningful on a deeper level too. It must have soul. When I was a student, I was happy just to render fruit in markers, if that’s what was what my teachers requested.”
Competition winners include the following BFA Illustration students and recent graduates: Yuri Bae, Aimee Brooks, Naomi Butterfield, Christopher Chai, Yoon Cho, Hayelin Choi, Boeeuen Choo, Jessica Lauren Chung, Jensine Eckwall, Sabrina Elliot, Kjersti Faret, John Gutierrez, Kevin Hong, Genna Howard, Grace Kanazawa, Boyoun Kim, Minah Kim, Sue Jean Ko, Amanda Konishi, Soo In Ryn Lim, Courtney Rose Menard, Chakima Micheau, Melody Newcomb, Joowon Oh, Lily Padula, Aatmaja Pandya, Sohyoung Park, Brooke Pelczynski, Eli Powell, James Reyes, Julie Jungwon Seo, Jane Stephanny, Catherine Stubbs, Minju Sun, Lee Suyeon, Julienne Tan and Anna Yoken.
The Society’s scholarship competition has been recognizing and supporting up-and-coming student illustrators for over 25 years. The Society, as well as various other generous private and corporate donors, grant scholarships for stand-out work by students featured in the competition.
For more information about the exhibition, visit the Society of Illustrators website.
Image from top down: Hearty Forest by Boyoun Kim; Mrs. Carpenter by Aimee Brooks.