Black History Month art contest
Mayor Walsh is calling on students in Boston to document black history inspiring our future through art.
Deadline extended to Wednesday, February 21!
Do you make music? Are you a poet? Do you express yourself through dance or theater? What places in Boston come to mind when you think about black history? Where do you go for inspiration?
From February 1 through February 21, we want you to visit one or more places related to Boston’s black history and submit artwork inspired by them. You can scan our list of suggested sites below, or introduce new sites you think matter to Boston’s Black community.
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The contest is a joint effort by Mayor Martin J. Walsh, the Mayor’s Office of Arts And Culture, the Mayor’s Office of Diversity, and Channel 25 Boston.
About the contest
If you are a Boston student enrolled in grades 6 through 12, we want you to learn about places where the black women and men who shaped Boston’s history made their mark. Can they inspire you today?
Tell us how you will build on the successes of Bruce Bolling, Donna Summer, Phillis Wheatley, A. Philip Randolph, Mel King, Bill Russell, or any other African-American hero you can think of! Will you become a great artist, public servant, athlete, parent, or business owner? Show the world!
We will receive student art submissions in the following categories:
- music
- performing arts, including dances, short plays, and comedies
- spoken word poetry, and
- visual arts, including photos, slideshows, and PDFs.
Submission rules
The contest is open to students of public, private, charter, or home school programs. You have to live in the City of Boston and be currently enrolled in grades 6 through 12. Students can also take part in the contest by themselves or in a team.
If you win the contest, you must be available to tape a news segment the morning of Friday, February 23, 2018.
You can complete our application online. To take part in the contest, submit the following items:
- Artwork: A file in one of the allowed formats (.pdf, .doc, .mp3, .mp4, .avi, .mov, .wmv, .flv). Video submissions can be no longer than five minutes.
- A paragraph detailing the reason you chose the particular site and how its history influenced your artwork (250 words or less).
- A picture of you visiting the site.
- February 1 - 16: Online portal open for submissions
- February 16: At 10:30 p.m., Channel 25 airs Black History Month half-hour special
- February 19 - 21: Judges select winners for three categories and two age groups (6-8 grades and 9-12 grades, six winners total)
- February 23: Awards Ceremony at National Center of Afro-American Artists (10 a.m. - 12 p.m.)
Suggested sites for inspiration
Suggested sites for inspiration- Last updated:
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The contest is a joint effort by Mayor Martin J. Walsh, the Mayor’s Office of Arts And Culture, the Mayor’s Office of Diversity, and Channel 25 Boston.
