The 2022 Youth Poster Contest will open on January 3, for all Marin middle and high school students, both public and private. The Youth Poster Contest provides an unprecedented and very public platform to let the voice of our youth be heard.
Marin youth are invited to design a poster that communicates their hopes and concerns about social justice, health, women’s rights, immigration, discrimination, climate change, firearms regulation, bullying, and other issues important to them. Posters can be submitted at RileyStreet Art Supply in San Rafael through the contest deadline of May 6.
The Youth Poster Contest is developed in partnership and enthusiastically supported by the Marin County Office of Education. $3,800 in prizes will be awarded to the contest winners.
New for 2022, the College of Marin will provide $1,400 in college scholarships for the Producer’s Award and the first, second, and third place winners in the high school division. These scholarships can be applied to the cost of fees, textbooks, or supplies, with no expiration date. Winners may choose from a wide variety of art, design, and related courses as well as Summer Career Academies.
The Youth Poster Contest will expand its important outreach to underserved students in many Marin Title 1 schools. Considered the “heart” of the poster contest, the Title I school program provides free in-school poster workshops, a guest art instructor, and free art supplies for the class and students. Additionally, we have formed a new partnership with Next Generation Scholars and will provide free art poster workshops for their middle school program serving first-generation, under-resourced Marin County school students.
“There has never been a more important time for young people to speak out and get involved in their community. The Youth Poster Contest is an inspiration to all of us, and it is amazing to see what these talented students create and focus on. We are so incredibly grateful for their work,” said Mike McGuire, California State Senator.
Andrea Flores Miranda, 2019 Producer’s Award winner, said, “The contest helped me realize I have a voice and I can express it through my art. It shows the perspective today’s youth have on these issues so that they can take action and better our future.”
Bruce Burtch, the producer, pro bono, stated, “This is, first and foremost, a messaging contest, not an art contest. Posters are judged on the impact of the student’s message, and how they utilize creativity, expressive language and original art to communicate that message.”
The 2022 Youth Poster Contest is presented in partnership by Marin County Office of Education, RileyStreet Art Supply, Marin Community Foundation, Bill Graham Memorial Foundation, County of Marin Community Service Fund, The Rock Poster Society, Haight Street Art Center, Good Earth Natural Foods, Marin Independent Journal, and seven Marin Rotary Clubs.
Full details on prizes, partners, rules, and deadlines can be found at youthpostercontest.org.
