Traditionally, my library has held a bookmark contest for school aged children during the fall. The kids like having something creative to work on and the teachers like something for the kids to do after they're done with an assignment or MEAP testing. This year, the standardized test is held in the spring, so we decided to move the bookmark contest and have a kids ArtPrize instead. Nothing like this had been done in Ionia before, so we weren't really sure what to expect, but wow! The community responded in a big way! We received 50 entries by children ages 5-16. Nearly 500 votes were cast. I was blown away. The artwork was spectacular and the kids worked really hard at truly expressing themselves through their media.
We had four separate categories by grade level:
K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12.
We put no restrictions on what the kids could create in regards to media, we just limited the size to 3'x3'x3' (And a few of them got really close to that). We got flooded with drawings, paintings, pastels, sculptures, posters, collage, photography, a backpack, miniature models, and more! The top 3 vote recipients will be back for an award ceremony and we will be providing them with small prizes as well as recognition at their own gallery opening. We had some disappointed kiddos but I know that next year, they'll be back and judging by how close a couple of the races were, it will be even more competitive next year!
I highly recommend hosting something like this at your library. It truly benefits everyone.
To see pictures of all the entries, please visit us at our facebook page!
Mr. Mike
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