Announcing the 2025 Teen Media Award Winners

1st Place: Wistful Affection, Ava Wynne
Statement: This piece was inspired by a certain type of sad nostalgia that many students may feel as the end of the school year approaches. Through the use of muted greens and blues I strived to foster a sense of serenity. similarly, I embroidered colored string to mimic the effect of ripples in water to emphasize a gentle yearning for childhood whimsy. “Wistful Affection” was a result of my own reflection upon my former years of high school, which I had previously taken for granted.

2nd Place: Dreaming in Place, Emerson Botts
Statement: “Dreaming in Place” is inspired by my Pup Pup, who was born in the Hill District in 1935 on La Place Street. He dedicated himself to learning in order to improve his future (represented by the color in the sky).

Honorable Mention: The Blue Identity, Ava Wynne
Statement: In this multimedia piece, I combined a watercolor subject with a blue mask made of synthetic polyester and tulle that was stretched and pinned before adding layers of modge podge to solidify. The idea behind the subject reflects the complexity of shifting identity in teenage years. The tension wrinkles highlight the difficulty of change and the formation of identity in adolescence. Furthermore, the color blue seen in the painting is symbolic of serenity, hinting that it is necessary to remove familiar restraints to grow as a person. This piece, titled “Blue Identity” is emblematic of the scary simplicity of tearing away an identity that does not pertain to you anymore.

Honorable Mention: Dare to Dream, Muriel Liu
Statement: This painting illustrates a connection between reality and imagination. The girl tries her best to control the kite, but it ends up flying too high, creating a beautiful scene as the kite sails through on its own. She represents all of us and the changes we go through in life. We like certainty, but the future is unclear, broad, and scary. Steering away from how we envisioned opens up new paths.

2026 Ralph Munn Cover Art Winner: Boo-Boo the Fool, Taylor Ham
Statement: This photo was inspired by the struggle as a black girl to fit into white friend groups and finding the balance between staying culturally true to yourself and not faking a “white mask” to fit in.

First Place: Coral Bleaching: A Potter’s Perspective, Julia Driscoll
Statement: This past school year in my AP Pottery course, I was assigned to research an idea for a submission to the AP Art and Design College Board. These board members are trained to evaluate my portfolio by using standardized scoring guidelines. Initially, I was exploring multiple ideas, but I kept circling back to the ocean as my central theme. My teacher suggested a more detailed theme, so I turned to the library for inspiration. After reading some books, I became so intrigued with coral reefs. I thought that they were such a beautiful ecosystem and was devastated by the impact of bleaching and dying ecosystems. Then I came across the book, Life on the Rocks; Building a Future for Coral Reefs. This book changed my entire perspective on the drastic warming temperatures that harm oceanic environments. In turn, I set out to make a series of pieces from my inspiration that I gained from that book. These are just two of the 15 pieces I made for my portfolio.

Second Place: Beauty in Death, Hadly Webb
Statement: Following the death of multiple family members last year I wanted to create a piece that celebrated them. That pushed the notion that death should not be feared in our society, for with death comes the beauty and renewal of life. To die means to have lived and I think that concept is something which should be portrayed.

Honorable Mention: Earring holder, Jessica Shullo
Statement: I wanted to make a cute stand for my earrings.

Honorable Mention: Self Destruction, Jaelyn Gold
Statement:  My inspiration for this piece was a quote by Craig D Lounsbrough that says “I am the greatest obstacle to my greatest dreams” I choose this as my inspiration because it explains how I felt when making this sculpture I wanted it to show how self destructive can ruin you and your future.

First Place: Sunrise on the Runway, Sidney Rice
Statement: The name ”Sunrise on the Runway” is a play on Suzanne Collin’s book, “Sunrise on the Reaping”, because my inspiration for this piece is the extravagant style of Capitol Citizens in her stories. The gown is made out of entirely repurposed materials. I wanted nothing on this dress to be simple – I knew it had to be big and bold.

Second Place: Flimsy, Sofia Pfaltzgraff
Statement: This was for a class project where we had to create a costume or high fashion piece out of re-used materials, whatever that might be. I took a great deal of inspiration from the absurdist costuming of the talking heads, as well as Alexander McQueen.

Honorable Mention: The Proliferation of One’s Identity, Rose Highfield
Statement: This dress mirrors the stages of beautiful, yet unpredictable and fast-paced, growth in nature. Just as flowers bloom and change with the seasons, so too do we evolve as individuals.

Honorable Mention: Alice Dress, Sidney Rice
Statement: The inspiration behind this dress, made out of book pages, was the animation Alice in Wonderland. I wanted to recreate the classic dress with nothing but stories – literally. To turn some pages blue, I dyed them in clothing dye. Overall, I believe this dress captures the essence of the story.

First Place: Through My Eyes, Muriel Lu
Statement: Time speeds up with age. Birthdays feel ages apart when we’re young. The older we get, however, birthdays come and go, each feeling more indifferent than the last. It’s different when I watch my brother; I see the changes in him. He’s a few inches taller, has more adult teeth, and his smile is brighter. I hope this feeling never changes when I watch my brother blow out his candles through my eyes.

Second Place: Together They Sing, Joya Nasr
Statement: Together They Sing is from a collection of photographs for a film photography class final project where I superimposed photos of flowers onto photos of Pittsburgh’s Saint Paul’s Cathedral. By layering the stained glass from the cathedral and flowers, I sought to explore the harmony between natural beauty and man-made beauty. The comparison invites questions such as: “does one type of beauty rival the other, or can man-made beauty and natural beauty work together to enhance each other to create something better than its parts?” With this photograph, I aimed to challenge stringent societal ideas of nature versus human made structures and their intersections, though I believe this piece can be interpreted in many different contexts – religion, environmental concerns, etc. – depending on the viewer’s perspective.

Honorable Mention: Monochrome Surfing, Rohan Khera
Statement: I was waiting for a surfer to walk below the pier with the waves and surf crashing around them to capture this intriguing yet tranquil photo.

Honorable Mention: Between the Steel and Smoke (Beauty in Opposing Realities), Sammie Hong
Statement: I took the industrial building picture realizing beauty is subjective, as I found it somber while my mother found it beautiful.

First Place: I am a Star, Ella Chen
Statement: For my second piece I was inspired by my experience growing up Asian in the Midwest which I analogized via the life cycle of stars.

Second Place: Cookie and Nugget: The Origin Story, Lucia Tobul
Statement: I had two hamsters when I was in second grade and started writing superhero stories about them. I have been writing about them ever since.

Honorable Mention: Pittsburgh’s Box, Ella Chen
Statement: For my first comic book I was inspired by Greek myth and Pittsburgh’s own local history. I made a story about Pandora’s box and mixed it with real places and events in Pittsburgh history to narrate how Pittsburgh overcame its troubles.

Honorable Mention: Predicament of the Past, Sayf Farooq, Sophia Farooq, Zoya Farooq
Statement: This piece was inspired by our Pakistani-Indian heritage, with which were are very familiar. We wanted this work to reflect our life experiences, as well as educate others in certain aspects of those parts of our culture which are close to our hearts. I have added a few details regarding aspects of our culture that were not properly explained before. In doing so, we hope we have cleared any confusion regarding said aspects for people not of this culture.