As Madison Scruggs, ‘27, ventures into the dimly lit basement of the Cincinnati Contemporary Art Center, plating her snacks, she listens to the announcers list the winners of the 2025 Congressional Art Competition.
“As I was watching, I [thought], ‘Oh, they forgot my category,’ because they were going through all the categories [and skipped mine],” Scruggs said. “I was ready to leave, and then they announced the overall winner… I didn’t even know how to react to that.”
Scruggs’ artwork, “Future Vision,” was selected as the overall winner in Ohio’s First District. At the age of 15, she was the youngest student to receive this award. It was later hung in the United States Capitol, which Scruggs visited in June, 2025 for the awards ceremony.
Winning this award was an outstanding culmination of years of hard work. Since the age of three, Scruggs has been recognized for her natural talent by her family and friends.
“While most kids would draw stick figures, Madison was drawing birds with feathers and people that had depth,” Kisha Scruggs, her mom, said. “It was very important to me to make sure that I encourage my kids to do what they love, and Madison has always loved art.”
Scruggs’ parents began developing her talent by gifting her art supplies on her birthdays and supporting her adamantly. In 2013, Scruggs began working closely with a personal art mentor, Brandon Hawkins, who was able to use his connections and experience in the art world to develop her career.
“We kept developing [her skill], and then she started flourishing on her own,” Kisha Scruggs said. “Even her teacher was like, ‘Oh my god, how did Madison do this?’ She just got better and better. It was one of those things when some people just have the innate ability to do things… She’s the real definition of a prodigy.”
Scruggs continued strengthening her skills through practice 24/7: sketching the airplane seat in front of her, doodling on worksheets or personalizing her shoes. Art was becoming her life, and in middle school and early high school, art became Scruggs’ way of managing mental battles.
“[I realized that] when I’m really down, I get to draw and it’ll always be there,” Scruggs said. “I will always be able to pick up a pencil and draw on my paper; do something that isn’t focusing on school or work or struggle.”
Alongside helping her cope, Scruggs’ art has also helped others handle their struggles.
“Usually if a family member dies, someone would reach out to me and say, ‘Can you paint them?’ or ‘I have a photo that’s a little rough around the edges, can you finish that photo?’” Scruggs said. “The same way I can cope through my struggles with my mental health, they can cope through their struggle with their grief.”
Scruggs has also been involved in multiple art collaborations, going back to ninth grade: a painting called “Sunflowers,” through Artworks, a Black Lives Matter mural through Black Art Speaks, a local nonprofit aiming to uplift Black artists, and, recently, a mural on the outside wall of the Student Success Center. This month, she is working on designing class merch for the Class of ‘27.
“She’s such a good person; she does a lot of good with her art,” Elizabeth Knodle, art teacher, said. “I’m most impressed with that about her, [and] her willingness to put herself out there, to do extra and more beyond what’s required for a class and then to always be so beautifully humble about it.”
Typically a very introverted person outside of the house, Scruggs speaks through her art what she struggles to say through words.
“For a while she had to find herself, but once she did, she found that art was her outlet to be able to express how she feels,” Kisha Scruggs said. “Her art speaks for her, and that is a profound way to be able to speak, for somebody to be able to exactly feel your emotion through your painting.”
This winter break, Scruggs was invited to hold an art exhibition at Elementz, a hip hop art center. Named “Silent Screams,” her exhibition displayed countless pieces sharing the mental health struggles Scruggs and other students have faced.
“[It was inspiring] to see, especially the young people, soak in what Madison was expressing,” Kisha Scruggs said. “Even the adults were saying, ‘You’ve helped me, even in my old age.’”
Alongside incredibly meaningful and personal art pieces, Scruggs has formed a distinct sense of humor and personality, including an unsurprising habit of falling out of her stool in art class.
“With Madison, it’s almost like we are not surprised when she wins an award, when she falls off her stool [or] when she comes in with a four-foot painting every other day,” Knodle said. “It’s almost a lack of surprise for things that are, you know, extraordinary.”
You could never catch Scruggs bragging about her achievement and awards. Oftentimes Scruggs casually keeps them from her family and friends. Her incredible humility is, in part, influenced by her upbringing.
“I am [my kids’] biggest cheerleader, I’m always going to hype them up to do things that statistics say that they cannot,” Mike Scruggs, her dad, a pastor and free-lance graphic designer, said. “At the same time, it’s being grateful for those abilities and understanding that those abilities are God given, and that you’re not taking those things for granted.”
As the college application process creeps into Scruggs’ life, she will be making many important decisions about her future in art, with full support from her family and friends.
“My hope is that she leaves Cincinnati, leaves Ohio, expands her opportunities and sees beyond [the] 275 loop on what she has to offer to the world,” Mike Scruggs said. “She needs to take the chance to allow [her talent] to take her [to] farther places than anybody can ever imagine.”