Dear Educators and Students,
Peace Islands Institute (formerly the Interfaith Dialog Center) announces the 3rd Annual Art&Essay Contest for the middle and high school students in the State of New Jersey. PII’s Art & Essay contest for grades 6-12 was held first time in 2010. You can see last past Award Ceremonies and winners by visiting this page: click here please.
Please read all the instructions carefully. If you have any questions, contact us by phone 973-353-9333 or by email infoidc(at)idcnj.org
Sponsors: PSEG, Star Ledger, Ebru TV
About the Contest:
There are important values that help keep societies afloat, with this in mind PII has undertaken this important project for our youth. PII organizes the ART & ESSAY CONTEST to instill some of these values in our young and to give them a forum which they can express their understanding and invisualize them.
The contest consists of 2 categories; art and essay, and is made up of 2 participant categories: Middle School (grades 6 through 8), and High School (grades 9 through 12).
Each participant can compete in one or both categories listed below. For more information about the contest and the location of the events you can visit PII’s website at www.idcnj.org.
Each year we have a different theme. This year’s theme is: "Poverty: Time to act together"
Right click here to download and save the flyer.
Definition of the theme:
"Poverty: Time to act together"
According to United Nation’s report on Poverty Reduction, economic growth will not reduce poverty, improve equality and produce jobs unless it is inclusive of all community levels. Governments, private sector, universities, faith-based or secular organizations, grass-roots level NGOs, etc. need to work together to recognize the roots of poverty and produce and implement solutions.
Where are we standing to solve poverty? What effect can one person (me) have on poverty? What effects can a community have on it? What factors contribute to poverty? You can find more about the theme in the Brain Storming section at the end.
Goals of the Contest:
To have students in middle and high schools think about and be involved in solving social problems and issues in our world today such as poverty as we want our future leaders to be aware of important values and social problems at an early age and to make themselves ready to solve these problems. This year’s contest is geared towards this important issue, as it is a deep problem in our state.
Who can participate:
Students at grades 6-12 from the State of New Jersey can enter the contest. Each student may submit only one work in each category.
Important Dates:
1. The participants have to send their works by May 4th 2012.
2. The names of winners will be announced on May 25th 2012.
3. The awards ceremony will be held on June 3rd 2012.
Categories
1. Essay
2. Visual Art
Prizes for each category
Grades 9 through 12:
1. First Place - $1000
2. Second Place - $800
3. Third Place - $600
4. 5 mentions: $100 each.
Grades 6 through 8:
1. First Place - $750
2. Second Place - $600
3. Third Place - $500
4. 5 mentions: $100 each.
Award Ceremony Venue
Exact address will be announced later.
Contest Categories
1. Essay Contest
a. The essays must be mailed or emailed by sponsoring teachers by May 4th 2012.
b. Essays must be original, unpublished, and written by one student.
c. Each student may submit only one (1) essay.
d. We ask teachers to sponsor students and guide them. We also ask them to mail essays on students’ behalf. Each sponsoring teacher may not submit more than five (5) essays per grade in total.
e. Each essay should be no more than 1000 words.
f. Each essay should be written in Times New Roman font, size 12, and should not have any images in the document.
g. Essays may be one of the following types:
Informative Essay
Narrative Story
True Story
h. The top three places and five mentions for each category of participants will have their names published on the PII website on May 25th 2012 and will receive their prizes at the ceremony on June 3, 2012.
Each submission will be judged on the basis of following criteria: Grammar, uniqueness of the piece, understanding of the topic and its implementation in the piece, the style of writing and the flow of the piece and how the essay addresses the issue of the theme and approaches to solving world and community problems related to theme.
i. Each submission must include:
- Name
- Grade
- School
- Sponsoring Teacher's Name
- Sponsoring Teacher's E-mail
j. Participants consent to their work being used and copied by Peace Islands Institute for promotional and/or informational purposes.
k. Please note that submission by email is NOT acceptable. We ask sponsoring teachers mail all essays he/she sponsored in one envelope or send in one email only
2. Visual Art Contest
a. The participants have to mail their original arts by May 4th 2012.
b. The names of prize winners will be announced on the PII website on May 25th 2012.
c. Works of art that are ranked in the top 15 will be displayed during the award ceremony to be held on June 3, 2012.
d. Participants may submit entries utilizing any medium in a 2-D format. Drawing, watercolor, oil paint, acrylic paint, collage, mixed media accepted. (No sculpture, photograph, computer drawings or graphic program print-outs, please).
e. Submissions may be one of the following sizes: 16”X16, 16”X12 or 17”X11”
f. A jury of art professionals will judge the submitted works on the basis of the following:
-Uniqueness of composition
-Creative/expressive use of materials
-Artistry of execution
-Integration of medium and message (overall impact of the visual idea)
g. Each submission must have on the back of it your:
- Name
- Grade
- School
- Sponsoring Teacher's Name
- Sponsoring Teacher's E-mail
h. Participants consent to their artwork being used and copied by Peace Islands Institute for promotional and/or informational purposes.
i. No artwork will be returned to students.
j. Participants consent to their work being used and copied by Peace Islands Institute for promotional and/or informational purposes.
k. All entries must be original. Please do not send scanned picture of your art work.
Announcements:
1. All Future announcements may be found on www.idcnj.org/
2. All rights of submissions sent belong to PII.
3. Each winner is responsible for his/her own transportation to the ceremony place.
4. Check (awards) will be made payable to parents or legal guardians.
Brainstorming worksheet:
When planning your work(s), it is important to think about the theme, “Poverty: Time to Act Together” in many different ways. Try to think about the following...
- Why is poverty a problem?
- Where does poverty strike most? What kinds of people live in poverty?
- Why does it matter whether or not I try to understand the poverty?
- What would it be like if I could not afford anything that my friends have?
- What does our culture say about poverty? What have I learned about poverty in my communities and classrooms?
- How would the world be different if everybody addressed issue of poverty? How does poverty affect someone’s life, health and goals?
- How would your perspective on poverty be different if you lived in another part of the state or country?
- What efforts are being made to prevent and solve poverty? Are they working?
- What subconscious judgments or assumptions do I make about people or places affected by poverty?
- Have I or my family ever been so poor that even we could not afford food and lived in hunger for a while? What would it feel like to be hungry and in poverty every day?
- What can I do, as an individual, to help solve poverty?
- What can our government do to solve poverty?
- What can we do collectively as communities, faith groups, government, etc. to end poverty?
The theme of “Poverty: Time to Act Together” means much more than thinking that one knows what other people go through every day. When composing your work, feel free to be creative. Just remember that whatever type of work you choose, you want to create a work that makes the reader think and realize the theme and why it is important to consider in today’s global context.
Contact Information
Peace Islands Institute
17 Academy St. Suite 701
Newark, NJ 07102
Ph: 973-353-9333
Fax: 973-353-9331
Email: infonj(at)peaceislands.org
FAQ:
1) Are photographs allowed for the Art category? No, they are not allowed.
2) We are working on a mural and we would like to submit that but obviously it belongs to more than 1 student. Is this a problem? No, unfortunately we cannot accept murals.
3) Are schools outside New Jersey allowed to participate? No, the contest is for all Middle and High School located only in New Jersey.
4) If I’m not able to make it to the Award Ceremony, what will happen to my prize? You may pick it up from the PII's office located in Newark, or we could mail it to you.
5) I do not want to submit my original art work. May I scan and send it instead? NO. All art works submitted have to be original. Others will be disqualified.
6) Are my students able to produce their work on adobe Photoshop or illustrator then submit them in a poster format. No computer drawings or graphic program print-outs are permitted.
