Art Contest Details and Information

​​​​Art Contest Details and Information

Welcome to the 2025 Annual Saving My Alachua Environmental Art Contest! All Alachua County students enrolled in public, private, or home school grades K-12 are encouraged to create an original work of art depicting their passion and ideas for being better stewards of our local environment. Deadline to submit artwork is February 7, 2025.

Rules

• Read the TIPS FOR ARTWORK SUBMISSION!
• Artwork must reflect the student’s interest in the local environment (be specific to Alachua County) and address one of the following topics:
  • Water Conservation
  • Stormwater Pollution Preservation
  • Natural Habitat Protection
  • Wilderness and Wildlife Protection
  • Proper Disposal of Toxic Waste
  • Climate Related Issues
• Entries will be accepted from grades K-12.
• Submissions must be 8 ½” x 11” and must be presented horizontally (landscape).
• Artwork must be flat (no canvas or three dimensional objects attached).
• All artwork must be original. No photographs.
• One entry per artist.
• Attach the entry form to the back of the artwork (tape preferred; DO NOT STAPLE). Entries with incomplete or illegible information may be disqualified.
• Deadline for artwork is February 7, 2025

Winners

Winners are announced in March 2025.

Ribbons will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in each grade category for Kindergarten through 12th grade. Selected winners will be featured in the 2026 Saving My Alachua Calendar. All winning artwork will be displayed beginning in the month of April 2025. All submissions will become the property of Alachua County and may be reproduced.

FAQs

Q1: I love the ocean and dolphins. Can I draw a marine scene for this contest?
Answer: The Saving My Alachua contest was created to highlight resources (plants and animals) and issues specific to Alachua County. Since this is not a coastal county, oceans and marine life are not appropriate subjects.

Q2: Can I submit photographs?
Answer: No, photographs are not accepted.

Q3: Can I sign my artwork?
Answer: Yes, but, please keep signatures small and ideally locate them in a corner of the page at least ½ inch from the edge. This is because the judging is done anonymously so we cover up any signatures with labels (if you sign in the middle of the page, the judges will see a blank label covering up part of your artwork). Signatures should be at least ½ inch from the margins for scanning.

Q4: The submission form asks for an “Original Artwork Title.” What does that mean?
Answer: You can give your artwork an original title that fits your theme. Please do not simply list the topics on the contest flyer as the title.

Tips for Artwork Submission

Top 3 reasons artwork is disqualified:

1. The artwork was drawn vertically (portrait) – Winning artwork is framed and displayed horizontally (landscape), and the Saving My Alachua Calendar is also printed horizontally. We cannot accommodate artwork that doesn’t follow this rule.
2. The artwork was too large, too small, or 3 dimensional – Same as above. Winning artwork is framed and professionally scanned if selected for the calendar, so we cannot accommodate larger/smaller sizes or 3-dimensional submissions. However, you can use certain multimedia techniques if they can lay flat and be scanned (for example, paper mosaic).
3. The artwork does not reflect the local environment – This is a tough one for so many of our young artists! Since the contest was created to highlight resources (plants and animals) and issues specific to Alachua County (hence the name “Saving My Alachua”), submissions must highlight local topics. Sorry, no lions, exotic birds, marine life, etc.