The Texas Mental Health Creative Arts Contest is open for submissions in writing, artwork, and photography. The deadline for entries is March 10th.
The theme of the contest is: “Why Does Mental Health Matter To You?”
“The contest aims to bring people’s attention to Mental Health Awareness Month,” released the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. “The art contest aims to normalize the discussion of mental health while promoting connection, education, awareness, and empowerment. For many participants, it is an opportunity to express complex emotions through creative outlets. Submissions will be judged on originality, creativity, and how well they express the contest theme. Winners from each category and age group will receive prizes and have their work displayed and published on the Texas Mental Health Creative Arts Contest website.”
The contest is hosted by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, The Texas System of Care, and The Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health at UT Austin.
There are submission categories in creative writing, original artwork, and photography. The age groups are split by Elementary School (PreK – 5th Grade), Middle School (6th-8th Grade), High School (9th-12th Grade), and Adult (18 and up).
There are guidelines for each category:
For creative writing:
- No more than 300 words of a creative story, essay, or poem
- Express the contest’s theme
- Typed or legible handwriting
- Cannot contain graphic depictions of nudity, suicide, blood, or violence
- Correct spelling and grammar
- Includes a description with the entry
For original artwork:
- Combines drawings and pictures
- Expresses the contest’s theme
- Materials may include pencil, ink, charcoal, crayon, markers, pastel, paint, mixed media, collage, graphic design or similar 2D media.
- A well-lit photo or scanning of the artwork to submit
- Cannot show depictions of nudity, suicide, blood, or violence
- Includes a description
For photography:
- Must be an original photo
- Expresses contests theme
- High-resolution format
- Image cannot show a person’s face
- Cannot depict nudity, blood, violence, or suicide
- Includes a description
Individuals submitting entries that are under 18 years old need a parent or guardian’s consent to enter the contest.
There will be winners for each age group and category. The rewards are special prizes and the chance to have your entry recognized in public galleries, on the contest hosts’ websites, and at the Texas Capital.
Once submitted, the entries are the property of the contest hosts, and may be utilized to promote mental health awareness month in May.
Any plagiarism will disqualify contestants. For more information and where to enter submissions, click here.