Art & Essay Contest 2014
Dear Educators and Students,
Peace Islands Institute announces its 5th Annual Art & Essay Contest for the middle and high school students in the State of New Jersey. Since its inception in 2010 PII’s Art & Essay contest for grades 6-12 has reached a prominent number of submissions each year. The board later decided to limit the submissions 5 per teacher per grade, where more than 200 NJ schools are participating. You may see previous Award Ceremonies and winners by visiting our webpage, www.artandessay.org
Sponsors: PSEG, Star Ledger, Ebru TV
About the Contest:
PII helps to make New Jersey a stronger and more prosperous state by advancing the causes of peace, cross-cultural tolerance and human dignity. PII believes that establishment of dialog environments is a means to appreciate diverse opinions and eliminate the stereotypes often assigned to ‘others’. In this respect the Art and Essay Contest is very instrumental in building bridges between New Jersey communities as well as other segments of the larger society.
To contribute to the improvement of diversity, pluralism and multiculturalism in society, PII organizes the ART & ESSAY CONTEST to instill some of these values among the youth of our state and to give them a forum with various platforms in which they can express their understanding and analysis of these values. The contest’s objective is to make our future leaders aware of social problems at an early age and to think globally.
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: www.artandessay.org.
Each year we have a new theme. This year’s theme is:
SAVE THE EARTH’S NATURAL RESOURCES: “Can Our ChildreEnjoy The Same Resources and Beauty That We Have Had for Generations?”
- REDUCE waste by using less
- REUSE containers and products
- RECYCLE old products to make new one
Definition of the theme and Brainstorming worksheet:
When planning your submission(s), it is important to think about the theme, SAVE THE EARTH’S NATURAL RESOURCES: “Can Our Children Enjoy The Same Resources and Beauty That We Have Had for Generations?”
- REDUCE waste by using less
- REUSE containers and products
- RECYCLE old products to make new one
In other words, try to think about the following …
- The Earth has a lot of awesome places has to be stay same for new generations, there are places where nobody should be.
- Technology could ruin people’s lives and nature; we should realize the power of that.
- What is being safe for “Natural Resources”?
- How to balance our lives to keep safe all Earth’s Natural Resources.
- Why do individuals do prevent all natural resources?
- What are the outcomes of wasting all natural resources?
- What could be done to save the Earth’s Natural Resources?
- How I would help everyone to increase awareness of the way to keep save all natural resources?
- How would I react to someone who is not very careful about saving natural resources?
- How can we mobilize people around us to come together to stand against using improperly The Earth’s Natural Resources”?
- What role can parents and school officials play to prevent wasting Natural Resources?
- What more could the state of New Jersey and law makers do to inform to people about saving The Earth’s Natural Resources?
The theme of “SAVE THE EARTH’S NATURAL RESOURCES ” means much more than you think. When composing your work, feel free to be creative. Just remember you want to create a work that makes the reader think and realize the theme and why it is important to consider it in today’s global context.
Who can participate & Important Dates
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.
1. The participants have to send their works by April 4rd 2014 before 5pm.
2. The names of winners will be announced on April 18th 2014 on www.peaceislands.org and www.artandessay.org
3. The awards ceremony time and venue will be announced on our web page,www.peaceislands.org
Prizes for each category
Grades 9 through 12:
1. First Place – $600
2. Second Place – $500
3. Third Place – $400
4. 5 mentions: $100 each.
Grades 6 through 8:
1. First Place – $500
2. Second Place – $400
3. Third Place – $300
4. 5 mentions: $100 each.
The teachers of the first three places in each category will receive an iPad Mini and winning schools will receive a PII Art & Essay Contest trophy.
Award Ceremony Venue
Exact address and time will be announced later.
Contest Categories
1. Essay Contest
a. The participants have to send their essays by submitting online on www.artandessay.org by April 4th 2014 before 5pm
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, after submitting online. 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 April 18th, 2014 and will receive their prizes at the award ceremony.
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 automatically consent to their work being used and copied by Peace Islands Institute for promotional and/or informational purposes.
k. Please note that submission by person is not acceptable. We ask sponsoring teacher to mail all essays he/she sponsored in one envelope, after submitting online on www.artandessay.org
2.Visual Art Contest
a. The participants have to mail their arts by April 4rd 2014 before 5pm.
b. The names of prize-winners will be announced on the PII website (www.peaceislands.org) on April 18th 2013.
c. Works of art that are ranked in the top 15 will be displayed during the award ceremony.
d. Participants may submit entries utilizing any medium in a 2-D format. Drawing, watercolour, oil paint, acrylic paint, collages, mixed media accepted. (No sculpture or photograph, 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 and Phone number
h. Participants automatically 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.
Announcements:
1. All Future announcements may be found on www.PeaceIslands.org and www.artandessay.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.
5. Follow PII Art and Essay on tweeter @artandessay.org
Contact Information
Peace Islands Institute
777 Terrace Avenue, Suite 109, Hasbrouck Heights, NJ 07604
Ph: 1(201) 426-0689 Email: <a href="mailto:contest@peaceislands.org