Senior Christine Yan has received a national silver medal in the 2022 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for her work on an oil painting entitled “Disconnected”.

The painting is a part of Yan’s Advanced Placement series. More specifically, this painting shows “the immigrant experience through the lens of my grandpa and I’s relationship,” according to Yan’s website, which features her artwork at christineyan.com.

“Through the painting, I was trying to express how I tried to bridge the disconnect through spending time with them,” said Yan.

Yan believes that those meant to connect with the painting are people who have a cultural or physical barrier between a member or members of their family and are figuring out how to navigate through this struggle.

“What I love about it is the use of symbolism to get the point across about generational differences and communication,” Yan’s art teacher, Lesley Rucker, Upper School and AP Studio Art Instructor said.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards website describes the competition as “the nation’s longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens.”

The artist’s work is judged in three categories: originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. “I care more about the process than the actual result,” said Yan.

Rucker admires Yan most in “her compassion and passion for her heritage, her culture for other people, [and] her ability to be a leader.”

Yan plans to continue her artistry at the University of Pennsylvania, where she will major in Visual Studies: Art Practice and Technology.