Check out art and writing resources, including opportunities for publication, from around the world that are available online for all to access. Have a resource of you’re loving? Email ral@artandwriting.org to share your resource with the Region-at-Large community.

General Resources

• Virtual Career Panel for Awards Alumni, presented by the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards: Learn how to turn your passion for the arts into a sustainable career from four Awards alumni, who shared their invaluable insights during our virtual career panel So, You Want to Be a Creative? A Virtual Career Panel for Awards Alumni. Our featured alumni panelists answered a variety of questions ranging from their high school experiences to how they made the transition into the working world to learning to deal with imposter syndrome. Watch a recording of the inspiring panel here, or check out the link here for a recap of our favorite responses.

Art Resources

• Virginia MOCA Free Virtual Tours for Students: Schedule a 40-minute virtual tour with a Virginia MOCA educator, streamed live from the Virginia MOCA galleries. Tours use a selection of works from their current exhibitions to foster close observation, critical-thinking, and rich discussions that support learning standards through an inquiry-based approach. Complete this form to request a Virtual Tour.
• AICAD Portfolio Review Portal from The Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD): Get personalized feedback from the portfolio experts! Upload your artwork to receive feedback from AICAD institutions – the leading art & design schools in the US & Canada. (NOTE: This is not a formal application to any of the participating colleges, but rather a special opportunity for informal advisement on developing your portfolio.) This site is open to all students from 9th -12th grade as well as college students interested in transferring.
• The COS Catch Up podcast from COS fashion label: Listen in as filmmaker Akinola Davies and poet James Massiah catch up and compare notes on creativity, life and style in their debut podcast series.
• Youth Media Arts: Focused on providing every student with the opportunity to network, learn, and grow as a creator, Youth Media Arts partners with professional artists to provide webinars, portfolio reviews, and insight into the challenges that come with pursuing a career in the arts. Join the team of teen artists from around the globe who have come together to support the creative exploration of young artists.
• The Best Virtual Museum Visits from Wanderfull: Check out world-famous museums and exhibits right from the couch! Some of Europe’s most incredible art houses have made themselves available via the internet, and you won’t even have to wait in line to get in. Here’s just a few: Uffizzi Gallery, Florence; Vatican Museums, Rome; Guggenheim, Bilbao; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; Musée d’Orsay, Paris
• Couriers of Hope exhibition, presented by Port City Creative Guild: Check out this hybrid in-person + virtual art exhibition that brings together ten local museums and galleries in Long Beach, CA with over 80 artists contributing over 160 pieces of mail art, and also engages hundreds of Long Beach students in an artwork trading program! Couriers of Hope will be on display for virtual viewing from January 19 to February 28, 2021, open to all. Visit the virtual gallery here.

Writing Resources

• Grad School Center: A writing resource guide for anyone looking to become a better writer (and getting published)! This guide covers the foundational rules of writing such as grammar and punctuation, then delves into how to strengthen your writing through revision and proofreading, and then on to publishing and tips on becoming a better writer.
• The Alcott Youth Magazine is a global publication devoted to sharing youth perspectives. Alcott Youth places a special emphasis on promoting voices from young women, although all are welcome and encouraged to submit, regardless of their gender. All submissions are free and will be responded to within a week. Art, photography, and writing are accepted.
• The Blissful Pursuit: A student-led online digital literary and arts magazine for students ages 7-22, to give a chance to all students to express their views and creativity in their own genuine voice on topics that matter to them. Student leaders of The Blissful Pursuit magazine selects a variety of topics that matter to the younger generation such as diversity & culture, history, society and our planet. Submit your entries to contribute to the next issue of the magazine–awards and prizes will be offered for the best entry in each genre!
• Ice Lolly Review: An international nonprofit youth literary magazine for young writers ages 12-26. Ice Lolly Review accepts all kinds of writing and looks for work that has a unique and strong voice. Submissions are always free and they aim to respond in under two weeks. 
• The Young Writers Initiative: An organization started by youth, dedicated to educating, servicing, and inspiring young writers. The Young Writers Initiative offers free editing, beta reading, cover designing, book reviewing, and consulting, and also hosts a free 2-month long summer camp and mentorship program, large-scale events, workshops, and contests. Volunteer positions are offered as well. Their companion press, Juven, seeks work from young writers that are 25 or younger.
• Cathartic Youth Literary Magazine: A nonprofit online magazine by teenagers, for teenagers, Cathartic Youth Literary Magazine offers a space for young people around the world to share their writing and discuss mental health. The magazine is open to submissions of poetry, short stories, flash fiction, creative nonfiction, or any other creative writing from youth ages 12-22. All appropriate submissions will be posted or responded to within a week of submitting. No submission fee is required.
• The WEIGHT Journal: Founded and edited by educators and writers from across the United States, The WEIGHT Journal offers free online publication opportunities for all high school writers. Young authors are invited to write about any topic, in a variety of genres.
• Write-Minded Canada: Founded by young writers for young writers, Write-Minded Canada is focused on providing resources, tips, and publication and recognition opportunities for teenagers interested in the literary arts.
• Literary Balms: A Virtual Community Writing Project: In keeping with Cave Canem Foundation’s mission to develop Black poets and foster community, Literary Balms is an initiative to help keep writers engaged with their writing process and virtually connected with each other during the COVID-19 pandemic. Literary Balms offers three writing prompts generated by Cave Canem fellows and poetry-related suggested readings.

More Resources for Creative Teens During COVID-19

While our society is beginning to discuss the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, much of the conversation focuses on adults and their experiences. It’s important for teens to hear from their peers and tell their own stories through their art and writing.  

The resources below chronicle how young people have experienced pandemics, from the 1918 Flu Pandemic to the current crisis. They also offer activities that can help you to record and share your story with others. Make sure to check out the Scholastic Awards site as well for additional COVID-19 resources not covered here.

Personal accounts and archives from the 1918 Flu Pandemic, and the power of journaling during COVID-19: 

• ‘It Is Pretty Bad Down Here at Present.’ What We Can Learn From a Letter Written Just After the Height of the 1918 Flu Pandemic | TIME, April 3, 2019 
  • It was after witnessing the worst of the virus that one student at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, wrote a letter to her aunt. More than a century later, as the world confronts another pandemic, the letter provides a look at what life was like at that moment—and how even the deadliest pandemic of modern history was the new normal for those who lived through it. 

• What We Can Learn From 1918 Influenza Diaries | Smithsonian Magazine, April 13, 2020 
  • These letters and journals offer insights on how to record one’s thoughts amid a pandemic. This article includes archival letters from people of all ages, including 15-year-old Violet Harris and 18-year-old Clara Wrasse. 

• Before coronavirus, Seattle was under siege by the deadliest flu in history. Here’s what life was like. | USA Today, March 7, 2020 
  • This article highlights a series of letters from 15-year-old Violet Harris through the 1918 Flu Pandemic. 

• Pandemic Influenza Storybook 
  • The CDC’s Pandemic Flu Storybook provides readers with a look at the impact pandemic flu events have had on both survivors and the families and friends of non-survivors. These stories are not folklore, but personal recollections. This collection of stories was first released in 2008 to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the 1918 flu pandemic. While many of these survivors were in their old age when telling their stories, most of them were teens or children during the pandemic itself. 

How are teens coping, and how are they helping to respond to the crisis and help others? 

• ‘We’re Really on Edge:’ As the Coronavirus Disrupts Family Life, Teens Are Taking on Adult Responsibilities | TIME, April 30, 2020 

• What Students Are Saying About Living Through a Pandemic | New York Times, March 26, 2020 
  • Teenage comments in response to our recent writing prompts, and an invitation to join the ongoing conversation. 

• What Living Through a Pandemic Is Like for Kids | Slate, March 20, 2020 
  • The children of Slate writers and editors describe how they’re feeling about all of this. 

• Teens Are Helping Seniors Stay Connected During the Coronavirus Pandemic | Teen Vogue, April 1, 2020 
  • Young people are helping seniors learn how to use technology so they can stay connected with their families and order groceries during the pandemic. 

• Teen calls on everyone to write letters for nursing homes amid coronavirus pandemic | CBS Albany, March 25, 2020 

Examples of art and writing related to the COVID-19 crisis:

• Current Events Conversation | New York Times 
  • A weekly round-up of our favorite student comments on recent news and issues. 

• Stories from the Pandemic | Newark Board of Education 
  • Life under quarantine doesn’t have to mean complete isolation. Young people bring us together by reporting from the frontline: their homes. They show how our families, friends and neighborhoods are being impacted by the pandemic, and how their stories can connect us across the globe. 

• The Quarantine Diaries  | New York Times, March 30, 2020 
  • Around the world, the history of our present moment is taking shape in journal entries and drawings. The article includes examples of visual and written journals from adults and young people to show how these creations are important for documenting social history during this historic event. 

• Art in Isolation: An Ongoing Visual Diary in Our Uncertain Times 
  • Starting from March 15, 2020, the New York Times is posting visual art and writing in direct response to the Coronavirus. 

• 4 Ways to Use Mentor Texts During the Pandemic | Edutopia, April 23, 2020 
  • Students can connect with topics that ring true to their lives while practicing techniques modeled by professional writers. 

• What Historians Will See When They Look Back on the Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020 | New York Times,  April 17, 2020 
  • Universities and institutions are inviting the public to share their experiences during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic and its aftermath. 

• Live From the Pandemic | Crashtest 
  • Check out art and writing from humans 18 year olds and under in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, curated and managed by the Crashtest team. 

• COVID Stories | Blue Marble Review 
  • Blue Marble Review is a quarterly online literary journal showcasing the creative work of young writers ages 13-22. We welcome poetry, fiction, personal essays, travel stories, and opinion pieces as well as art and photography. 

Art and writing prompts for young people: 

• Daily Writing Prompts from the New York Times 

• 12 Ideas for Writing Through the Pandemic With The New York Times | New York Times, April 15, 2020 
  • A dozen writing projects — including journals, poems, comics and more — for students to try at home. 

• Quaranteen Prompts | Words Alive 
  • Daily prompts and lesson plans to help teenagers cope with COVID-19 and learn from the news. 

• My Epidemic Story: A Guided Activity Workbook For Children, Families, Teachers And Caregivers | Children’s Psychological Health Center 
  • Full Workbook with writing and drawing prompts for children and teens about the novel coronavirus, available in 12 languages.

• Journal Prompts to Facilitate Coping with the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic  | Connecticut College’s Student Council Services 
  • Includes information on why journaling can be helpful in times of crisis, and provides five writing prompts to get started. 

• 2020 Pandemic Journal for Kids 
  • This printable journal contains writing and art prompts for young people.

• 47 Pandemic Journal Prompts for Students 
  • From Journal Buddies

• Hand Hobbies: A Resource Guide to Writing Basics 
  • Resource page for topics such as inspiration for writing projects, research, editing and more.

For parents:

• School’s Out: A Parents’ Guide for Meeting the Challenge During the COVID-19 Pandemic | New York University Langone Hospital System

Do you have an online resource to share? Contact us to share your resource with our community!