Youth Art Month 2026
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 3rd Annual Youth Art Month Student Art Contest to showcase and support the artistic achievements of students across San Diego, promoting the importance of arts in the overall development of young minds.
2026 Theme:
You Belong Here: Art for Every Voice
Students in Grades 1–12 across the San Diego area are invited to create artwork that explores themes of belonging, community, connection, and the role relationships play in mental wellness.
What does it feel like to belong? Who makes you feel seen? What does your community look like? How does connection help you through hard times?
There are no wrong answers — only YOUR voice, YOUR story, YOUR vision.
Contest Details
Open To
Students in Grades 1–12 attending school in the San Diego, CA area
Contest Period
March 15 – April 15, 2026
Submission Deadline
April 15, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT
Entry Fee
Winners Announced
$10 per submission
Age Groups
Group 1: Grades 1–5 · Group 2: Grades 6–8 · Group 3: Grades 9–12
Late April 2026
Awards & Exhibition
May 1, 2026 — Liberty Station, San Diego
Prizes
Winners will be selected in each of the three age groups, with First, Second, and Third Place winners recognized in each.
🥇 1st Place — $100 Blick Art Materials Gift Card
🥈 2nd Place — $50 Blick Art Materials Gift Card
🥉 3rd Place— $25 Blick Art Materials Gift Card
⭐ All winners will have their artwork displayed at MGB's Creative Studio at Liberty Station!
How to Submit
All entries must be original artwork created by the student. Accepted media include paintings, drawings, digital art, photography, collage, mixed media, and printmaking.
Each submission must include:
Student's full name, grade, and school
Title of the artwork
Artist statement (2–4 sentences) on how the work relates to the theme
Parent/guardian name and contact email
Physical artwork should be photographed or scanned at minimum 300 DPI. Digital artwork should be submitted as PNG or JPG.
Submit via the contest portal at Entrythingy.com
Meet the Judges
Learn more about the MGB Youth Art Month Student Art Contest judges
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
Support the Tool Kit Program
With each $10 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 San Diego area small business owner? Join our cause! Help us maximize our ability to provide free art-based therapy toolkits to students in San Diego. Sponsorship levels include Bronze ($500), Silver ($1,000), Gold ($2,500), and Platinum ($5,000).
Our Sponsors & Community Partners
Special thanks to the Arts District Liberty Station for being a community partner for our art contest.