2022 Young Artists and Authors Showcase (YAAS)

Theme: Generation Rescue: Sustainable Water for All

SUBMISSIONS ARE CLOSED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION.

Sister Cities International aims to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation – one individual, one community at a time. This year’s theme is Generation Rescue: Sustainable Water for All. Climate change has become an undeniably harsh reality in our lives, making the importance of raising awareness and taking action more essential every day. As temperatures rise, water patterns are disrupted, ecosystems are disturbed, cultures are affected, and energy resources are proven to be unsustainable for long-term use. These ongoing changes impact our local and global communities in every aspect, and youth are the key to tackle this global reality.

In line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, Sister Cities International will adopt climate change as the overarching theme for its Young Artists and Authors Showcase in both 2022 and 2023. For the 2022 competition, SCI is proud to invite all its youth members to create submissions that highlight the importance of climate change and its impact on water resources. The official 2022 Young Artists and Authors Showcase theme is Generation Rescue: Sustainable Water for All.

We encourage our youth to be creative and examine all aspects of this year’s theme, including:

Please read the following details carefully, as our rules and awards have changed slightly from previous years.

Important Note

When describing their artwork in the application form, students are encouraged to discuss how their local communities and/or international cities are approaching this year’s theme. Students can talk about collaborative efforts between communities, give project examples, or explore areas of potential cooperation within the water sustainability field. Descriptive paragraphs should be written by the student.

ELEGIBILITY
AWARDS

Students must be between 13 and 18 years of age at the time of the April 1, 2022 deadline.
The student must be affiliated with a dues-paying member of Sister Cities International or an international community partnered with a dues-paying member. (If you have any questions regarding your affiliation with a dues-paying member of Sister Cities International, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page or contact [email protected].)
No more than five (5) submissions per category will be accepted from each member community. International community partners are also eligible to submit no more than five (5) submissions per category. [Note for Sister City Contact Persons: Please provide a list of your (up to) five (5) participating students and their submissions organized by category to [email protected].] If you have any questions regarding submission limits, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page or contact [email protected].
Member communities are encouraged to form their own local competitions and submit the top five (5) in each category to Sister Cities International.
No student may enter submissions into more than one category.
All entries must meet the criteria listed below.
All entries must conform to Sister Cities International's policy on plagiarism found here.
All entries must be submitted and received with a completed application by April 1, 2022, 11:59 PM ET.
For any other questions, please contact [email protected].

All award winning artists' works will be published to Sister Cities International's website alongside the artists' names and names of the pieces.
One artist will be selected as a Grand Prize Winner, 2^nd Place Winner, and 3^rd Place Winner for each category.
Each category's Grand Prize Winner will receive $1,000 cash.
Each category's 2^nd Place Winner will receive $250 cash.
Each category's 3^rd Place Winner will receive $100 cash.
The winners of each category will be announced during or at the Youth Leadership Summit.

Below are some resources related to this year’s theme:

United Nations – Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

SDG 6 Issue Brief

United Nations – Goal 14: Life Below Water

UNICEF – Water and The Global Climate Crisis: 10 Things You Should Know

National Geographic – How Climate Change Impacts Water Access

Columbia Climate School – How Climate Change Impacts Our Water

The United Nations World Water Development Report 2021 Executive Summary: VALUING WATER

Content Guidelines and Categories

Artists Showcase
(Classic Medium)

Students may select one (1) piece of artwork to submit for this showcase.

Media accepted in this category include oil, acrylic, watercolor, charcoal, colored pencil, crayon, ink, marker, etching, collage, etcetera. Digital medium artwork will be taken in a separate category.

Important note: This year we will not be accepting physical artwork, only photographs of the artwork. To ensure our judges have the best quality view of your work, please confirm that photographs are no less than 1350x1080 pixels.

Only two-dimensional (2D), unframed artwork will be accepted.

Students must upload the photograph of their artwork to Sister Cities International by attaching the photo to the application below in either a .jpeg or .png format.

Students are also encouraged to post one (1) photograph of their artwork to Instagram and include the following in their caption:

-Tag @SisterCitiesInt

-Use the hashtag #YAAS2022

-Include the city, state, and country where the student is from

All submissions must be made by April 1, 2022.

Judges will evaluate submissions based on theme interpretation, and creativity.

All work must be original.

Artists Showcase (Digital Medium)

Students may select one (1) piece of artwork to submit for this showcase.

Digital mediums will be accepted in this category. According to the Eden Gallery, “Digital art… refers to art made using software, computers, or other electronic devices. Anything produced or made on digital media, such as illustrations, digital paintings, and such can be classified as digital art.” Moving art pieces will not be accepted – only still frame submissions are permitted. Please ensure that submissions have a minimum of a 1350x1080 px and are saved in a .jpeg or .png file type.

Students must upload a file of their artwork to Sister Cities International by attaching the file to the application below.

Students are also encouraged to post their artwork to Instagram and include the following in their caption:

-Tag @SisterCitiesInt

-Use the hashtag #YAAS2022

-Include the city, state, and country where the student is from

All submissions must be made by April 1, 2022.

Judges will evaluate submissions based on theme interpretation, and creativity.

All work must be original.

Photographers Showcase

Students may select one (1) photograph to submit for this showcase.

Students must upload a file of their artwork to Sister Cities International by attaching the file to the application below in either a .jpeg or .png format. Photo editing is allowed. Please see FAQ for more information.

Students are also encouraged to post the photograph to Instagram and include the following in their caption:

-Tag @SisterCitiesInt

-Use the hashtag #YAAS2022

-Include the city, state, and country where the student is from

All submissions must be made by April 1, 2022.

Judges will evaluate submissions based on theme interpretation and creativity.

All work must be original.

Authors Showcase

Students may select one (1) piece of writing to submit for this showcase.

Articles can be creative writing, essays, anecdotes, and other written works following the content guidelines below. Poetry will be taken in a separate category.

Students must upload a file of their artwork to Sister Cities International by attaching the file to the application below in either a .pdf or .doc format.

Article submissions are not to exceed 500 words.

Submissions must be written in English.

All submissions must be made by April 1, 2022.

Judges will evaluate submissions based on theme interpretation, creativity, composition, and grammar.

All work must be original.

Poets Showcase

Students may select one (1) poem to submit for this showcase.

Students must upload a file of their artwork to Sister Cities International by attaching the file to the application below in either a .pdf or .doc format.

Poetry submissions are not to exceed 200 words.

Submissions must be written in English.

All submissions must be made by April 1, 2022.

Judges will evaluate submissions based on theme interpretation, creativity, composition, and grammar.

All work must be original.

Musicians Showcase (Original pieces)

Students may select one (1) piece of music to submit for this showcase.

Students should submit their music piece in MP3 format by uploading the file to the application below.

Only audio submissions will be accepted; no videos. Submissions cannot exceed 4 minutes.

All musical pieces must be submitted by April 1, 2022.

Judges will evaluate submissions based on theme interpretation, and creativity.

The piece must be original.

SUBMISSIONS ARE CLOSED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION.