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.
Youth Art Month
Student Art Contest
🎨 Call for Art:
Youth Art Month Student Art Contest
Theme: "The Art of Self-Discovery: Who Am I?"
This year’s theme invites students to explore their identity, personal growth, and mental health journey through creative self-expression. Participants are encouraged to reflect on who they are, what shapes them, and how art helps them understand themselves better.
Submission Guidelines:
Eligibility:
Open to students in Grades 1-12 residing in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Artwork Requirements:
Create a 2D visual art piece (e.g., painting, drawing, digital art, photography, collage, printmaking, graphic design) that reflects the theme.
The artwork must be original and created solely by the student.
Submission Deadline: March 14, 2025 - Submit your artwork online by this date for consideration.
Entry Fee: $10
How to Submit:
Format: Submit high-resolution images or digital files.
Include: Your name, grade, school, and a brief description of how your artwork interprets the theme.
Winners and Prizes: Entries will be divided by age group: 1) Grades 1-5; 2) 6-8; and 3) 9-12. Each group will have three winners (first, second, and third place). Winners will receive a gift card to a local art store! Prizes will be awarded at $25, $50 and $100 in gift card amounts.
Important Dates:
Submission Deadline: March 14, 2025
Winners Announcement: 3/17
Selected Artworks will be displayed at the Union City Library from June 4-28, 2025.
We look forward to seeing how you express self-discovery through art!
For any inquiries, contact hello@mygoodbrain.org
Join the Fundraiser
Even if you're not participating in our art contest, you can still make a significant impact by supporting My Good Brain through a direct donation. Your contribution will help us provide essential art therapy resources to students in our community, promoting mental wellness among school-aged youth. Join our Youth Art Month fundraiser on Givebutter and be a part of empowering young minds through the transformative power of art.
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
Check out the winning artworks from last year’s 2024 contest below!
Visit the Union City Library
2400 Stevenson Blvd, Fremont, CA 94538
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