Artists Rising Against the Bomb Art Contest

Contest Purpose

1. • To raise awareness (among young artists and the public) about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, nuclear war, and/or nuclear weapons threat, including nuclear weapons production and testing and/or use.

Contest Eligibility

1. • The contest is open to 
     • Youth Artists: Ages 12-17
     • Young Artists: Ages 18-25
   • Location: must reside in the intermountain west, between the Cascades and Rockies (Idaho, Nevada, Utah, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, most of New Mexico, northern and eastern Arizona, eastern California, most of Wyoming, western Montana, or western Colorado)

Contest Qualifications

• Art Medium

  1. • Visual Arts (drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography)
     • Poetry
     • Performing Arts (music, film, poetry slam, play/performance) No more than 4 minutes in length

•  Important Contest Rules:

  • Youth artists: Use your own ideas and words, but you may ask your parent or other adult mentor for guidance on submitting the application.
  • All work must be original. 
  • Submissions involving reproductions, AI-generated, or AI-altered content will be disqualified.
  • Art that is off topic will be disqualified. Work must relate to nuclear war and weapons prohibition
  • Artists may submit up to two entries but can only win with one piece.
  • Physical visual art requirements:
    • For exhibition purposes, all pieces must be be at least 8.5×11 or, for larger pieces, no more than 28 inches on the longest side
    • 3D pieces must be no more than 15 pounds and no more than 4 inches in depth
  • All artwork must include:
    • Artist’s Age
    • Artist’s Name
    • Title(s) of submitted piece(s)
    • Medium description
    • Brief Artist statement of 200 words or less. Ideas include:
      • Share your story!
      • Why is this important to you and your community?
      • How does your work connect to abolishing nuclear weapons, nuclear war threats, etc?
      • Give a short your art, poem, or music from your perspective.
      • Share the story behind your work, including the thoughts, emotions, and experiences that inspired it.

How to submit

• Performance Submission Guidelines

  1. Submit in mp3, mp4 high resolution video
  2. No more than 4 minutes in length
  3. If applicable, send accompanying lyrics or script as pdf or word doc

• Poetry Submission Guidelines

  1. Upload in JPEG, PNG, or PDF format.
  2. Maximum word count: 300 words.
  3. Poetry may include optional illustrations or design elements.

• Visual Art Submission Guidelines

  1. File Requirements:
     • JPEG, PNG, or PDF with a resolution of 2MB or higher.
     • Crop images to focus solely on the artwork (no frames, background objects, or distractions)
  2. DO: 
     • Use high resolution (300 PPI or higher).
     • Show the full artwork (crop out the background, not the art).
     • Submit a clean, straight photo or scan.
     • Use high-quality JPEGs and correct color profiles (e.g., CMYK for printing).
  3. DO N0T:
     1. Submit low-resolution or pixelated images.
     2. Crop or obscure parts of the artwork.
     3. Include hands, angles, or clutter in the image.
     4. Upscale low-quality images excessively.

Submit your work to [email protected].

Judging Criteria:

• A panel will evaluate entries based on:
  • Heavily weighted criteria:
    • Evaluation of the artist statement to include an advocacy lens
    • Ability to tell a story connected to the threat of nuclear war
    • Potential for artist-to-advocate coaching
    • Creativity and originality
  • Other criteria:
    • Skills demonstrated based on age and ability
    • Quality of submission upload

Contest Timeline

1. 1. January 22, 2026 TPNW Anniversary: Open for submissions
   2. July 16, 2026 Trinity Day/Churchrock Remembrance: Closed for submissions. Judging begins for finalists
   3. August 1, 2026: Public Voting begins on finalists
   4. August 7, 2026 Hiroshima Day public voting ends 
   5. August 9, 2026 Nagasaki Day: Winners Announced

Prizes

1. 1. Each Artist Rising Awardee receives a $1000 cash prize.
   2. Artwork Exhibition
      • Finalists’ artwork is showcased and celebrated at exhibition in a local gallery (TBD)
      • Awardees receive a travel reimbursement to attend the exhibition opening in the Fall, where they can perform or speak about their piece.
   3. Year-Round Artwork Display
      • Awardees’ artwork is featured year-round at various public locations (TBD) and at SRA events in Idaho.
   4. Artwork is also displayed online through SRA’s website, marketing materials, and social media platforms.

Legal disclaimer/Artwork Release Form

By submitting an entry (“Artwork”) to Artists Rising Against the Bomb Contest (“Contest”), hosted by the Snake River Alliance (SRA), you, as a Contest participant (“Artist”), accept for yourself or, if applicable, as the parent/guardian of an Artist, the following terms:

1. I grant SRA the non-exclusive rights to use my Artwork in digital or hard copy format for advertising, promotional, exhibiting, and or/any other purposes SRA deems appropriate.
2. I understand that submitting to the Contest will not affect my own rights to, and ownership of, my Artwork.
3. I certify that my Artwork is my own.  No other individual or parties own or have obtained copyright to my Artwork.  The permissions being granted do not violate any prior agreements I have made with anyone else.
4. I agree that my Artwork, in SRA’s sole discretion, may be posted online at the Contest website and/or any other website as determined by SRA, for visitors to the website(s) to view.
5. I acknowledge that I have read the Contest Artwork Release Form, and if selected as a Contest finalist, will be required to sign and submit a copy of said form.

For questions, please contact Leigh Ford at [email protected] or call (208) 344-9161.