Art Competition Rules & Application

Thank you for your interest in submitting your artwork for our SevenDays^® 2025 Art Competition! You'll find the complete competition rules below, followed by the application form. If you have any questions, contact Jill Andersen.

SevenDays^® 2025 Art Competition Rules

• Complete the Art Competition Application and submit by the deadline.
• High school students (grades 9–12) in the Kansas City metro area are eligible to participate.
• Application (fill out on the SevenDays website) and Art due December 13, 2024.
• Each artist must turn in original artwork for each of the eight images. One image for each of the themed days and one image for our “general” SevenDays®. (Love, Discover, Others, Connect, You, Go, Onward, SevenDays) Label each image design with the theme it represents. There have been a few instances in past years where student designs appeared to infringe on the works of well‑known artists or to otherwise violate copyright protections. The SevenDays® Competitions Committee will immediately disqualify any designs that the Committee, in its discretion, perceives to have committed copyright infringement.
• $500 will be awarded to each of the eight winners. Students may only win for one image design.
• Students must submit their image designs electronically (e.g., pdf, jpeg, png, psd, etc.). This means the following:
  • Students who are hand-drawing their designs must use the templates provided with the Art Competition Application. The Committee reserves the right to disqualify any hand-drawn designs that do not meet the size requirements in the template. Students should then scan or photograph their hand-drawn designs using the resolutions described in the Application before submitting them.
  • Students designing images using computer software, photography, etc. do not have to use the template with the application, but the designs must be at least the same size as the template or larger.
• Students may use any art medium for their image designs. We have even had a winner who built 3D designs and then photographed them.
• Art competition winners must commit to and be available for interviews for a short film explaining how they conceived of their winning design as it relates to the day theme, what the ripple of kindness means to them, and how they are making ripples of kindness in their own lives and communities.
• Art competition winners: Be prepared to promote your image in any or all of the following formats – photographs, videos, local media interviews, in person at our Kindness Breakfast on April 2, 2025.
• Art competition winners must be available for the Love Day event on April 2, 2025. Awards and checks will be presented at this time.
• Helpful tips and thoughts for designing button images: Take some time to look through our website for a true understanding of our mission and values.
  • Love Day: The theme of love refers to the love and appreciation we should show one another as humans. It means to celebrate our differences and the commonality we can find in one another amongst those differences. It is not romantic love.
  • Discover Day: Discover can refer to so many things—the discovery of new knowledge, experiences, races, cultures, religions, and the challenges experienced by others. Draw on these vast and rich subjects when considering your design.
  • Others Day: Every day, there are nationally broadcast examples of people being made to feel like the “other.” What does otherness mean to you? How might we express kindness and understanding to someone feeling like an outsider? How do we share in the experiences of someone with a different background?
  • Connect Day: Our committee encourages creativity in interpreting “connect.” How do we connect in society, socially, intellectually, emotionally, etc.? Perhaps, draw on the unique ways in which students have had to learn to connect and perform acts of kindness in a world where social distancing is the new normal.
  • You Day: You Day focuses on how we take care of our own mind, body, and spirit. This theme has perhaps led to the widest range of button designs. How do you imagine mindfulness, wellness, and health? How do we show kindness to ourselves?
  • Go Day: Go Day is about getting out into the world, physically as well as socially or emotionally. Go could be represented by anything that encourages us to take a step into the future. How do we actively show kindness to ourselves and others?
  • Onward Day: Think about how to turn the concept of moving forward or individual growth into an image. Onward is about our next steps. After we have learned, we need to take actions. Represent moving ahead with new knowledge and actions to make the world a kinder place for everyone.
  • SevenDays® Theme: This unFW represents all of the SevenDays® mission, thoughts, and actions. Focus on our mission and show us what that looks like! Making ripples of kindness is, of course, the guiding light of SevenDays®.