Vineyard Conservation Society’s 9th Annual Art & Writing Contest

For their annual art competition, Vineyard Conservation Society (VCS) is asking artists and writers to reflect on climate change.

“It can be difficult to ‘see’ climate change. It is happening all around us all the time, and yet, day to day, it can feel like it’s not happening at all.

Enabling the public to see the existence, and feel the urgency, of climate change has been one of the great challenges of the modern environmental movement. Scientifically crisp and politically astute attempts have not met with wide success. 

Art presents a different and unique path by providing the emotional spark that often enables people to ‘see’. Art has the powerful ability to inspire action and spur innovation. With this in mind, the Vineyard Conservation Society is challenging high school students to help make the issue of climate change visible through their writing or artwork.  

Artists should choose their own path to communicate the issue and should feel free to use this as an opportunity to explore personally – how they feel, see, and experience growing up against the backdrop of climate change or approach the project with more publicly facing goals – an attempt to capture the public’s imagination and catalyze understanding or action – or some combination of both.  

Through your work you can make a difference!

Thought Starters for Exploring Climate Change in your Artwork

Awards & Exhibitions!

**Selected work will be awarded and displayed during the Vineyard’s first annual Climate Week Fair on May 14. 

The show will also be exhibited at the Film Center May 26 – June 19 and at Mocha Mott’s for the month of September.

First Place and Special Distinction prizes will be awarded. First Place (up to 5 winners) will receive $100!! 

Submission Instructions & Deadlines :

May 6 – Photography, movies, writing and any other digital based work should be emailed to slook@vineyardconservation.org

May 10 at 9 am — All other work can be dropped with art teachers and will be picked up by VCS and brought to the Culinary Arts dining room for an in person judging that day. 

Please remember to include: Title, artist name, grade and phone number.

Writing submissions can be any form – poetry, fiction, essay, etc. There is no minimum or maximum word count. 

All visual work must also be accompanied by a short paragraph to explain your own view on how your work connects to the theme. This can be as short as a few sentences and it is NOT judged. But these short explanations can help the judges understand your intention. This is especially important with a subject as broad and personal as Climate Change. ”