Grab a pen, some paint, a piece of paper and tell an artistic story about keeping the environment clean —that’s what it’ll take to be the 2013 winner of the North Carolina Big Sweep’s annual design contest.
The competition is open to North Carolina students across the state, from kindergarten through grade 12, with the winning artist to receive $100, recognition as “Artist of the Year” and samples of his or her artwork in poster, brochure and T-shirt form.
The contest has elementary-, middle- and high-school divisions from which contest organizers will select the top artists. From there, the “Artist of the Year” will be decided. According to a press release from N.C. Big Sweep, semi-finalists will each receive a letter of achievement.
“North Carolina has some of the most artistically talented students in the nation, and we can’t wait to see the creative entries this year,” said Judy Bolin, N.C. Big Sweep president.
N.C .Big Sweep began in 1987 as a coastal cleanup but has since evolved — first to inland waterways, then on to the environment as a whole with statewide cleanups. October represents a Big Sweep month, as this weekend the North Carolina Estuarium hosts the River Roving Big Sweep and the Pamlico-Tar River Foundation organizes a big sweep of the river, starting at Havens Gardens, on Oct. 20.
The deadline for the “Artist of the Year” competition is Oct. 15. N.C. Big Sweep asks that entries be submitted on 8 ½-inch-by-11-inch, unlined white paper with the student’s name, age, school name, address and phone number on the back of the artwork. According to the press release, only three colors should be used in the entire design, and the use of lead pencils is prohibited.