Youth Art Month 2025
March is Youth Art Month
Youth Art Month is an annual observance that celebrates the visual arts and art education for young people. Taking place in March, this month-long event aims to emphasize the value of art and creativity in education.
This year, My Good Brain is hosting its 2nd annual Youth Art Month Student Art Contest to showcase and support the artistic achievements of students, promoting the importance of arts in the overall development of young minds.
Meet the Judges
Learn more about the MGB Youth Art Month Student Art Contest judges
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Carol Aust works in acrylics on canvas and wood panels from her studio in Oakland, California. Her figurative paintings are emotionally-charged narrative fragments infused with mysterious tension and secrecy. She often places her figures in precarious environments where anything could happen.
Sometimes celebratory, sometimes lonely and disturbing, her paintings express a wide range of human desire and yearning. Aust’s work consistently features strong and vibrant colors along with figures that are both engaging and vulnerable.
Through her own private study she has been influenced by artists such as Emil Nolde, Marc Chagall, Kathe Kollwitz, and the German expressionists. Her work is represented in private collections throughout the United States.
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Bette Trono is a San Francisco Bay Area artist working in oil and acrylic, painting abstract and figurative artwork. Born in Sendai, Japan, she lived most of her young adult life in the Midwest before moving to California in the mid 80's. She earned her BFA degree in painting and printmaking from the University of Missouri, Columbia and worked in the art publishing industry as a graphic designer, art director and creative director before returning to her passion for paint. She is currently exploring mixed media and other collaborative art-related projects.
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Michelle Sweeney-Fillmore is a photorealistic painter based in the Bay Area. She grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, and graduated with a BA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2015. Fillmore’s paintings are autobiographical metaphors. Having grown up with a family member that wrestled with mental illness, her work opens up a discussion about mental health and points out its inherent stigmas and challenges. Each painting is a celebration of a person’s ability to liberate themselves from their own prison, as well as the ability to change and transform.
Michelle S. Fillmore has exhibited in museums and galleries nationally. She is currently represented by the SHOH Gallery in Berkeley, California, Artspace Warehouse in Los Angeles, California, and Woodman/Shimko Gallery in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Winners Gallery
This art contest is now CLOSED. Check out the winning artworks from this year’s 2025 Contest!
2025 Winners
We are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2025 MGB Youth Art Month Student Art Contest! 🎉 This year, we received an incredible selection of artwork from talented young artists across the San Francisco Bay Area. Each piece reflected deep creativity, personal storytelling, and a unique interpretation of our theme, "The Art of Self-Discovery: Who Am I?"
✨ Congratulations to our winners!
💖 A Huge Thank You to All Who Entered! 💖
To every student who submitted an entry—thank you for sharing your art with us! Your creativity and passion made this contest truly special. Even if you weren’t selected this year, we encourage you to keep making art and expressing yourself! We hope to see your incredible work in next year’s contest.
✨ Stay tuned for our 2026 contest announcement! ✨
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First Place - Vanessa Jiang - The Interaction of Imagination and Reality
Second Place - Alyssa Yin - Under the Sea
Tie for 3rd Place - Aaryan Karthik - Building My Dreams, Shining My Light
Tie for 3rd Place - Aanika Grover - The Art of Becoming
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First Place - Felicity Du - Breaking Free: A Journey to Self-Discovery
Second Place - Warren Hom - Branching Out
Third Place - Mayuri Shamarayar - City within Me - Dreams of a modern girl
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First Place - Yue Pan - Transform
Second Place - Siya Deshmukh - Brushes of Imperfection
Third Place - Sachi Tsuno - A Glimpse into the Unfathomable
Elementary Level - Tie for Third Place - Aaryan Karthik - Building My Dreams, Shining My Light
Elementary Level - Tie for Third Place - Aanika Grover - The Art of Becoming
Elementary Level - Second Place - Alyssa Yin - Under the Sea
Elementary Level - First Place - Vanessa Jiang - The Interaction of Imagination and Reality
Middle School Level - Third Place - Mayuri Shamarayar - City within Me - Dreams of a modern girl
Middle School Level - Second Place - Warren Hom - Branching Out
Middle School Level - First Place - Felicity Du - Breaking Free: A Journey to Self-Discovery
High School Level - Third Place - Sachi Tsuno - A Glimpse into the Unfathomable
High School Level - Second Place - Siya Deshmukh - Brushes of Imperfection
High School Level - First Place - Yue Pan - Transform
On Display
Fremont Creates ACCM Grand Finale Event 4/27
The winning artworks will be on display at the upcoming Arts, Culture, & Creativity Month event hosted by Fremont Creates at Downtown Fremont Events Center.
Date: Sunday, April 27, 2025
Time: 11am-3pm
Union City Library
The winning artworks will also be on display at the Union City Library all month long in June 2025 for the whole community to view. Come by and celebrate our young artists’ prized art!
Location
34007 Alvarado-Niles Road, Union City, CA 94587
Hours
Monday Closed
Tuesday 10:00AM - 6:00PM
Wednesday 10:00AM - 6:00PM
Thursday 10:00AM - 8:00PM
Friday 12:00PM - 6:00PM
Saturday 10:00AM - 5:00PM
Sunday Closed
Website
https://aclibrary.org/locations/UCY
Support the Tool Kit Program
With each art entry fee for the Youth Art Month Student Art Contest, you're helping fund MGB's events and activities, including the Tool Kit Program that provides art therapy resources to students in our community. Your support makes a difference!
Become a Sponsor
Are you a small business owner? It’s not too late for you to join our cause!
Help us maximize our ability to provide free art-based therapy toolkits to students in the Bay Area. Sponsorship levels include Bronze ($500), Silver ($1,000), Gold ($2,500), and Platinum ($5,000).
Learn more about what’s included for each sponsorship level and consider becoming a sponsor for the Tool Kit Program
Our Sponsors & Community Partners
Special thanks to Blick Art Materials for sponsoring our Student Art Contest, Union City Library and Fremont Creates for hosting our winning artworks display.