Announcing the 2017 Young Artist and Author Showcase!

The Richmond Sister Cities Commission and the Richmond Public Library is sponsoring the Young Artist and Author Showcase...Deadline is the 17th of February 2017. Please encourage Richmond's youth to participate with our Sister Cities.

The 2017 Theme: We’re Going Places

Sister Cities International aims to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation – one individual, one community at a time. This year’s theme, "We’re Going Places," showcases the importance of travel and exchange in achieving peace. Students are encouraged to draw inspiration from their experience with sister cities, travel, exchange, international friendships, and their goals to present their vision of where the future will lead.

The Richmond Sister Cities Commission will provide the following Cash prizes:

1st Place - $100.00
2nd Place - $75.00
3rd Place - $50.00

The 1st Place winners in each category will move onto Sister Cities International Competition with opportunity to win the Grand prize of $1,000.00.


Who’s eligible?

Authors and Artists: students who are between 13 and 18 years old at the time of the deadline, and who are affiliated with a dues-paying member of Sister Cities International or a non-U.S. community that is sister cities with a member of Sister Cities International. Filmmakers and Photographers: students who are between 13 and 22 years old at the time of the deadline. All submissions must conform to Sister Cities international’s policy on plagiarism found at sistercities.org/YAAS.

Artwork

1. Each U.S. member community may submit one (1) piece of art on behalf of their community and one (1) piece of art on behalf of each of their sister city communities. Deadline for local Competition is the 17th of February 2017. 

2. Art must be two dimensional, unframed, and no larger than 24in. x 36in. No photography (see "Photography" below). Media of all other types are encouraged, including pencil, ink, paint, prints, collage, mixed media, etc.

3. Art that does not meet the above criteria will be ineligible and returned to the artist.


Essays and Poems
1. Essays 500 words or less; poems 200 words or less.

2. Multiple entries are allowed for sister city members and international city partners. However, please limit five entries per classroom.


Photography
1. All photography must be submitted through Instagram and must include @SisterCitiesInt, #YAAS2017, and the city, state, and country where the photographer is from in the photo’s caption to qualify.

2. Multiple entries are allowed per student.


Film
1. Short films 1-10 minutes in length.

2. Films shot in color or black and white; documentary, fiction, and/or animation are all eligible.

3. Films must be submitted to http://cinequest.org/sister-cities-film-submissions. Access code: sistercities.


Awards
1. One (1) U.S. artist, one (1) international artist, one (1) poet, one (1) essayist, (1) photographer, and one (1) filmmaker will be selected as Grand Prize Winners.

2. Each Grand Prize Winner will receive $1,000 cash.

3. Five (5) U.S. and five (5) international finalists will be selected from the artist category.

4. Two (2) finalists will be selected from the poetry category and two (2) finalists from the essay category.

5. Five (5) U.S. finalists and five (5) international finalists will be selected from the photography category.

6. One (1) finalist will be selected from film category.