Illustrations from L.A. Youth archives

For this year’s art contest, we want you to create a piece of art about an injustice. It’s your chance to raise awareness about an issue you care about. It could be about an unfairness you see in your community, like bad schools, discrimination against certain groups like gays or minorities, or not enough opportunities for the people who live there. Or it could be an injustice happening around the world, like war, poverty or people living without freedom. Before you get started, think: What do you care about? What do you think is wrong in the world? How can you express your idea visually in a way that other people will understand what you’re saying?

We hope these images from L.A. Youth’s archives help inspire you. The image of the girl at the fence is about immigration. The artist said he was depicting a young Mexican girl who has been separated from her family members who are living in America illegally. The fence represents the Mexican border and she is imagining how their lives are. The flag image was the artist’s redesign of the American flag. She said, “Everyone says America is the best country, but human rights are still being violated.” In the image of the fist, the artist has a more positive message and seems to be saying that we can fight AIDS. And there is an image of people protesting war. 

You can also go to http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld and click on Guernica to read about Pablo Picasso’s famous mural protesting the Spanish Civil War.

RULES

1) Contest entries must be original artwork of Los Angeles County youth ages 13 to 19.

2) The work may be done in any medium, including acrylics, oils, charcoal, pencil, pen, watercolor, collage, multimedia, photography or sculpture. The dimensions should be 8 1/2”  by 11”. Three-dimensional artwork should include a photograph of the artwork. 

3) Each artist may submit only one entry.

4) The artist’s name, age, address and phone number should be included on the back of the artwork. If the artist is in school, the school’s name should be included. If the artwork was created as an assigned project in a classroom, the teacher’s name should be listed. Artwork will be returned if a return address is provided. 

The teen staff of L.A. Youth will select a first-, second- and third-place winner as well as some honorable mentions. The first-place winner and his or her teacher will each receive $100. The second-place winner and his or her teacher will each receive $75, and the third-place student and teacher will get $50. Winners and honorable mentions will be published in the May-June 2012 issue of L.A. Youth and on layouth.com.  

Questions?
Contact us at (323) 938-9194 or editor@layouth.com.

DEADLINE: March 31, 2012

Send your submission to: 

L.A. Youth Art Contest
5967 W. Third St., Suite 301
Los Angeles, CA 90036