Grand Island Community Youth Council's Create Your Community Art Contest

The first task in establishing the contest will be picking a community based theme. Prior to the mailings, a set of rules will be established to be used by the judges in evaluating each piece. Following this, a location will be secured at the local mall, a very open area, allowing the community to appreciate the pieces. Next, the mailing lists would re checked for accuracy and registration forms and rules mailed out to local schools, churches, daycares, and youth organizations. Between mailing time and the deadline, judges would be contacted, drawn from a pool of art teachers, local artists, and city employees. The local library will also be contacted to secure a display area for all winners and special award recipients. After that once the art has been collected along with any entrance and late fees, judges would be brought to City Hall to evaluate the pieces and nominate any pieces deserving special awards. The night before the beginning of the contest, the location at the mall would be set up and constructed. The following morning prior to opening of the mall, all pieces would be hung. They’d remain here under constant supervision to ensure they weren’t damaged. On the final day of the contest, winners would be announced at the closing ceremony. Following the closing of the contest, all pieces would be returned to their owners or taken to the Library to be displayed for the next month. After that time, all additional pieces would be returned. Through this contest, we seek to help spotlight an often overlooked sect of youth. By doing this, we also collect food to be donated to the national food pantry Project Hunger to distribute locally to the impoverished families of Grand Island.