Democracy Collection

NAEA Student Competition

Art in Embassies and the National Art Education Association are pleased to announce the call for artwork for the Democracy Collection Student Art Competition beginning on February 15, 2023. Showcasing the artwork of talented middle school and high school student artists ages 13-18, this competition provides an opportunity for students to explore democracy through the creation of art. The Democracy Collection Student Art Competition submission and jurying process will be completely virtual. Up to 30 works of art will be jury selected for inclusion in the virtual exhibition featured on the NAEA website.

Submissions Deadline: Monday, May 1, 2023 at 11:59pm EST

ELIGIBILITY:

Students must be 13-18 years of age to submit their art for the Democracy Collection Art Competition, per the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Submissions will be juried digitally by a panel of visual arts professionals. The top 30 works of art will be displayed in the NAEA virtual gallery.

Five works of art will be selected by a panel of guest jurors – four regional winners and one best in show. To be eligible for the regional or best in show awards, the student artist must be a citizen of the United States per State Department partnering contest guidelines.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS & DETAILS:

  • Each submission must be accompanied by a written Artist’s Statement that clearly responds to the prompt and expresses the creative process, what inspired this artwork, and/or why art as a vehicle for democracy matters to the student (50 words).
  • Submissions must be made digitally through the Democracy Collection Student Art Competition website by the art teacher.
  • Limit ONE entry per student. Multiple submissions for the same student will be disqualified from jurying.
  • ALL submissions must be an original piece by the student. If proven otherwise, the student will be disqualified.
  • Artwork can be 2D or 3D.
  • Images of work must be submitted as JPEG or PNG at a minimum of 540 px.
  • Each submission must be accompanied by the Democracy Collection Student Release Form available in the contest link.

SELECTION PROCESS:

Submissions will be juried digitally by a panel of visual arts professionals. The top 30 works of art will then be adjudicated separately by guest jurors, including renowned graphic artist Shepard Fairey.

Juror selections will be guided by scoring in 5 categories: Visual Communication, Execution, Formal Elements, Originality, and Artist Statement.

NOTIFICATION:

Notification e-mails will be sent to chapter sponsors by Friday, June 9, 2023. Due to restrictions in the ArtCall platform, notification emails will be addressed to Chapter sponsors and will include the title of the work. Student names will not be part of the notification.

Questions? Contact Susie Kim at skim@arteducators.org.