Office of Indian Education Student Artist Competition
The 2023 Student Artist Competition is closed!
Click here to join the Office of Indian Education Listserv to get the latest news and updates.
Congratulations to the 2023 Student Artist Competition Winners!
Download a PDF of posters of the 2023 winners’ artwork.
Download the full list of 2023 winners with descriptions of their work.
Download a bookmark featuring the 2023 winners’ artwork.
Click here to download a PDF of posters of the 2022 winners’ artwork.
Click here to download a bookmark featuring the 2022 winners’ artwork.
The Office of Indian Education’s Student Artist Competition (SAC) returns! The 2023 competition theme is “I am the Future.” We received 124 entries across the different categories. Thank you to our student participants for sharing their hard work with us! The 2024 competition theme and deadline will be announced at a later date, so stay tuned!
Are you an American Indian, Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander artist, writer or videographer? If so, the Student Artist Competition (SAC) might be for you!
| Art | Writing | Video |
| Open to students in early childhood through grade 12 | Open to students in grades 4 through 12 | Open to students in grades 4 through 12 |
| Painting, drawing, textiles, printmaking, mixed media, photography, computer art | Personal narrative essay
1-2 pages, 12-point font |
Personal performance piece
No longer than 3 minutes |
| Must be submitted as at least one and up to three photos of the artwork
Must be submitted as a JPG, JPEG, PNG or PDF file |
Must be submitted as a PDF file | Must be submitted as an MP4 file |
Deadline for the 2024 competition will be announced at a later date. Students may enter all three competition categories but may submit only one entry per category. Students under 18 must have a parent and/or guardian provide consent to participate through the online entry form.
Winners were announced at the OIE Project Directors Meeting on June 6, 2023.
Have additional questions? Email SAC@seiservices.com
- Eligibility: Contest entry is restricted to works as described in Method of Entry below. All entries should relate to the contest theme “I am the Future” and should show the importance of education to Native youth. Content must not (1) promote illegal behavior; (2) support racial, religious, sexual or other invidious prejudice; (3) advocate sexual or violent exploitation; (4) violate rights established by law or agreement; (5) invade the privacy of any person; or (6) be otherwise inappropriate as determined by the OIE in its sole and conclusive determination.
- Art
-
- Early Childhood and Pre-kindergarten
- Kindergarten through Grade 2
- Grade 3 through Grade 5
- Grade 6 through Grade 8
- Grades 9 and 10
- Grades 11 and 12
-
- Writing
-
- Grades 4 and 5
- Grade 6 through Grade 8
- Grades 9 and 10
- Grades 11 and 12
-
- Video
-
- Grades 4 and 5
- Grade 6 through Grade 8
- Grades 9 and 10
- Grades 11 and 12
-
- Method of Entry: The Student Artist Competition period begins November 15, 2022, and ends March 29, 2023. Winners will be announced online at the OIE Project Directors Meeting on June 6, 2023. Each contestant must include a valid e-mail address. Participants may enter each competition category only once and may submit as individual entrants only (no group submissions are permitted). Upload your entry no later than midnight Eastern time on March 29, 2023. There is no entry fee.
- Art
- Artwork may include, but is not limited to, painting, drawing, printmaking, mixed media, photography, computer art and textiles.
- Artwork should be submitted online in the form of at least one photograph of the artwork and up to three photographs as needed to capture the entirety and intricacy of the artwork. One photo must contain the full artwork and the two optional photos may be used to show alternate angles and/or details.
- Artwork photos may be submitted as PDFs, JPGs, JPEGs or PNGs only.
- Writing
- Writing pieces should be a personal narrative essay.
- All entries must be typed, no more than 2 pages long, and use a 12-point font.
- Writing pieces may be submitted as PDFs only.
- Video
- Videos should be personal performance pieces.
- All entries should begin with a 5-second title screen containing the title of the video, entrant’s name and entrant’s email address. The title screen does not count toward your time limit.
- All entries should be no longer than 3 minutes.
- Videos may be submitted as MP4s only.
- Videos should be personal performance pieces.
- Native Language Use: Entries using Native language for all or part of the work are accepted and encouraged. To allow for adequate and appropriate contest judging, please include an English translation or subtitles.
- Ownership: Entries submitted in this Contest should not already have been used in other promotions or committed to other entities for any use, whether online or offline. Contestants must have sole ownership rights to the work used for Contest entry. By submitting a work for Contest entry, the contestant warrants and represents that he/she consents to the use of the image in print and to its posting on the Internet (including social media outlets) in connection with the Contest and other marketing by the Office of Indian Education. By entering the Contest, each contestant agrees that OIE may publish his or her digital image, with credits to the Contestant; make derivative works from or otherwise use his or her digital image entry and other entry materials for any purpose in any media, in perpetuity, without limitation or additional permission or compensation, except where prohibited by law. OIE retains sole discretion to determine if an existing agreement represents a conflict, and to disqualify the entry from the Contest if needed.
- Deadline for Receipt of Entries: Contest entry closes immediately after midnight ET on March 29, 2023. Entries submitted after that time will not be eligible for the Contest.
- Selection and Notification of Winners: OIE will review all qualified entries and select the first-, second- and third-prize winners in each grade band in each contest category. Winners of the Student Artist Competition will be announced on the Office of Indian Education’s Project Directors Meeting on June 6, 2023. Winners will also receive an email notification in advance to facilitate their attendance and participation in the Celebration. Odds of winning depend on the number of entrants.
- Prize: The Student Artist Competition is a chance to be recognized and have your work seen by people throughout the United States. Winners will have their work highlighted at OIE’s Project Directors Meeting, displayed at the U.S. Department of Education and featured on the OIE website.
- Participation: All decisions regarding disqualification of entries shall be at the sole discretion of the Office of Indian Education. OIE is not liable for lost, late, delayed, damaged, or incomplete email or uploads, for failure to receive entries due to transmission failures or technical failures of any kind, including, without limitation, malfunctioning of any network, hardware or software, whether originating with sender or the Office of Indian Education. In the event of a dispute, each entry will be deemed to have been submitted by the owner of the email account that was registered for the Student Artist Competition. For these purposes, an email account holder shall mean the natural person assigned to such email account by the Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with such email account. OIE is not responsible for any liability pertaining to copyright violation.
- General Release: By entering the Student Artist Competition, contestants release the Office of Indian Education from any liability whatsoever for any claims, costs, injuries, losses or damage of any kind whatsoever arising out of or in connection with the Contest or with the acceptance or possession of any prize (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses or damages related to personal injuries, death, damage to, loss or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation, or portrayal in a false light).
- Sponsor: The Contest is sponsored by the Office of Indian Education, whose decisions regarding the selection of winners and all other aspects of the Contest shall be final and binding in all respects. The Office of Indian Education will not be responsible for typographical, printing or other inadvertent errors in these Official Contest Rules or in other materials related to the Contest. If you have any questions regarding this Contest, or to obtain information about the winners after the close of the Contest period, please email us at SAC@seiservices.com.
