Litter prevention starts with education
The Litter Trashes Everyone Art Contest is now officially The Governor’s Art Contest on Litter Prevention! This annual litter awareness art competition is for all South Carolina K-5th grade students. To participate in this fun and educational competition, students create artwork illustrating the theme Litter Trashes Everyone. With nearly 20,000 participants in the 2022-2023 school year, the art contest is now more competitive than ever.
How it works
- The Art Contest typically opens in October and concludes the following February.
- Educators submit the application to receive a litter lesson and art paper.
- Educators present our litter lesson to the entire class and provide paper for artwork.
- Students create artwork focused on litter—no recycling-related content.
- School administration judges all participating students’ artwork and selects ONE (1) student to represent your school. More than one entry per school will not be accepted.
- Mail winning entry to PalmettoPride by the due date. The 2024 due dates are TBD.
- Address to PalmettoPride 2700 Middleburg Drive Suite 216 Columbia, SC 29204.
- Contact education@palmettopride.org for more information.
Requirements
- PalmettoPride will provide paper if requested or plain white 8.5×11 paper may be used.
- Five (5) color maximum allowed in addition to white.
- Artwork must be themed around Litter Trashes Everyone and space to add the phrase must be available if the student does not include it in the artwork.
- No copyrighted content such as logos or brand names should be included on artwork.
- Images/photographs of the submitted work may be featured on our various social media outlets and promotional material. All images are subject to editing.
Selecting the winners
- The Selection Committee values content over artistic ability.
- The artwork must show the title of the contest “Litter Trashes Everyone.” Try avoiding any words in your artwork besides the title of the contest.
- Try to only use litter-specific messaging. Specifically, avoid references to recycling.
- Try to relate the artwork to South Carolina in some way. Keep it local — avoid references to the Planet Earth!
- Consider how the piece will look on the back of white t-shirts from Youth XS to Adult 3XL. Create artwork that is brightly-colored and easy to read from far away.
- While we love wildlife and animals, we find most students depict them in their artwork. Think of unique ways to convey the message so your artwork stands out.
- Refer to past years’ winning artwork — we are looking for something new and innovative!
Awards
- State winner: PalmettoPride selects one statewide winner. The winning artist, their teacher and the school each receive a monetary award. The school and the artist each receive a framed reprint of the winning artwork. The statewide winning artwork will be featured on PalmettoPride volunteer t-shirts for the following year, and the winning student’s school (students and faculty) will receive t-shirts featuring the winning design.
- Regional winners: PalmettoPride selects four regional winners—Lowcountry, Midlands, Pee Dee and Upstate. Each regional winning artist, their teacher and the school receive a monetary award. The school and the artist each receive a framed reprint of the region’s winning artwork.
- Statewide and regional winners will be announced at the State House in Columbia. The regional and statewide winners with their school administrators, teachers and parents will be invited to attend. The tentative date for the 2024 presentation is TBD. If possible, PalmettoPride will come to each winning school for an award presentation at a date to be determined.