The Art & Writing Contest is an opportunity for young people who have visited the Museum or studied the Holocaust in their classrooms to respond creatively to what they have learned.
This important outreach program is dedicated to the memory of the 1.5 million children who perished during the Holocaust. Cash prizes are awarded to the winners and winning submissions are displayed on the museum website.
All entries must be received by the Holocaust Museum no later than 11:59 pm on Monday, April 19, 2021.
Winners will be notified in May 2021. Winning entries will be displayed at the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum website and possibly other locations in St. Louis and Missouri. All entries remain the property of the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum and will not be returned. By your participation in the contest, you grant the Museum permission to publish the winning entries in brochures, flyers, other Museum publications, and exhibitions. Photo reproductions of the winning entries may also be made available to the news media.
Art & Writing Contest Official Rules
Use your creativity to express the difficult and inspiring lessons of the Holocaust.
Topics may include:
- Acts of courage and heroism
- Resistance and rescue
- The consequences of indifference
- Persecution, intolerance and injustice
- Preserving humanity in situations of great adversity
- History and lessons of the Holocaust
CONTEST ELIGIBILITY:
There will be two divisions for both the Art and Writing categories.
A student may submit only one entry in each category.
The art or writing must not have been previously submitted to any other contest.
Division 1 will include grades 6-8
Division 2 will include grades 9-12
WRITING CONTEST:
Students may write a poem, newspaper article, story, play/dialogue or essay.
- The entry must show evidence of thoughtful research, creativity and interpretation.
- The entry may not exceed 1,000 words, must be typed and double-spaced.
- The entry must be submitted as a PDF file with the name “[FULL NAME], [GRADE}, Writing Submission”
- A panel of judges will evaluate the entry on content, originality, quality of expression and accuracy.
ART CONTEST:
Students may create a sculpture, drawing, photograph, painting, poster, collage or five-minute video, and submit an image of the art (or YouTube link) for judgement.
- The entry must represent the independent effort of the student.
- The art entry may not exceed the dimensions of 20” x 20”.
- The sculpture entry may not exceed 18” x 18” x 18”.
- For safety reasons, art (painting or sculpture) may NOT include real barbed wire, jagged glass or plastic.
- For tangible art submissions, the entry must be submitted as a JPG or PDF file with the name “[FULL NAME], [GRADE}, Art Submission for Judgement”
- For tangible art submissions, a second image must be submitted to verify the size and original work. In this picture, please include a ruler next to the piece and a post-it with the artist’s name. See contest rules for an example. Please title the file “[FULL NAME], [GRADE], Art Submission for Verification.” CLICK HERE to see a sample submission.
- For video art submissions, the entry must be a link to the video on YouTube.
- A panel of judges will evaluate the entry for creativity, excellence and content.
PRIZES:
- First place winner in each category will receive $300 and a certificate.
- Second place winner in each category will receive $200 and a certificate.
- Third place winner in each category will receive $100 and a certificate.
- Honorable mention winners in each category will receive $25 and a certificate.
Winners must provide their address in order to receive the prize money.
Winning entries will be displayed on the Holocaust Museum website.
ENTRIES WILL BE DISQUALIFIED FOR ANY OF THE FOLLOWING REASONS:
- Plagiarism.
- A parent/guardian replies the student does not have permission to participate.
- Entry does not adhere to guidelines as stated.
- Entry is received after the 11:59 pm Monday, April 19, 2021 deadline.
All entries remain the property of the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum. By your participation in the contest, you grant the Museum permission to publish the winning entries and names in brochures, flyers, online, other Museum publications and exhibitions. Photo reproductions of the winning entries may also be made available to the news media. For additional information, call (314) 442-3714. Entries must be submitted online no later than 11:59 pm on Monday, April 19, 2021.
2019 Art & Writing Contest Winners
VISUAL ARTS – Division 1, Middle School
First Place: $300
Colorful Stories
Lauren Bickel
Selvidge Middle School (Ballwin, Mo.)
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Rebecca Durbin
Second Place: $200
Standing Together
Stacia Talbott
Selvidge Middle School (Ballwin, Mo.)
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Laura Conklin
Third Place: $100
Auschwitz
Anish Lanka
Selvidge Middle School (Ballwin, Mo.)
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Rebecca Durbin
Honorable Mentions: $25
Untitled
Sadie Avakian
East Pennsboro (Pa.) Area School District Middle School
7th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Michele White
Barely Human
Alex Deiters
St. Margaret of Scotland (St. Louis)
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Lisa Cummins
Untitled
Jacob Schaper
Fortitude School (home school in Alton, Ill.)
7th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Christy Schaper
VISUAL ARTS – Division 2, High School
First Place: $300
Striped Sorrows
Abigail Jarvis
Canton (Mo.) R-V High School
10th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Staci English
Second Place: $200
Life in Auschwitz
Bryan Lopez
Pattonville (Maryland Heights) High School
12th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Marcia Mueller
Third Place: $100
Suffer the Innocent
Kelly Hill
Pattonville (Maryland Heights) High School
10th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Marcia Mueller
Honorable Mentions: $25
“Why Me?”
Jenna Christeson
Civic Memorial High School (Bethalto, Ill.)
11th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Suze Gibson
What Lies Within
Taryn Geiger
Civic Memorial High School (Bethalto, Ill.)
11th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Suze Gibson
“Work Sets You Free”
Josie O’Dell
Pattonville (Maryland Heights) High School
12th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Marcia Mueller
Innocence and Guilt
Gracie Reid
Lebanon (Mo.) High School
9th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Elizabeth Hutton
Curatorial Award: $100
Carrying Her Memory
Jonathan Levi Tamen
Miami Beach (Fla.) Senior High School
9th Grade
Teacher: Mr. David Reese
WRITING – Division 1, Middle School
First Place: $300
The Grain of the Wood
Aubrie Marian
Parkway Southwest (Manchester, Mo.) Middle School
7th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Angela Riley
Second Place: $200
Why Me?
Megan Smith
Hancock Place (St. Louis) Middle School
8th Grade
Teacher: Mr. Michael Adreon
Third Place: $100
The Ashes
Gabrielle Sansoucie
Central R-3 (Park Hills, Mo.) Middle School
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Mary Coleman
Honorable Mentions: $25
Oma’s Story
Simran Kulkarni
Eagle View (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) Middle School
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Brenda Reed
Twining Rope
Sierra Glassman
Ocean Grove (Boulder Creek, Calif.) Charter School
8th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Maggie Edge
WRITING – Division 2, High School
First Place: $300
Ghostly Colors
Audrey Montanez
Saint James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.)
9th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Alli Jordan
Second Place: $200
The Bird Sanctuary
Kate Wexell
O’Fallon (Ill.) Township High School
9th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Kathy Ashby
Third Place: $100
My Tie to this Earth
Elizabeth Khemraj
Saint James Academy (Lenexa, Kan.)
9th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Alli Jordan
Honorable Mentions: $25
The Lost Sock
Rachael Dziaba
O’Fallon (Ill.) Twp. High School
9th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Kristen Schuhardt
2,500 Risks
Raven Weathers
Canton (Mo.) R-V High School
10th Grade
Teacher: Ms. Staci English
Thanks to:
Margaret Campbell
Dennis Lubeck
Special thanks to our contest judges:
Writing
Andrea Brownstein, Sandy Snodgrass, Richard Jackoway
Visual Arts
Jeff Hartz, John Lesser, Jill Rosenberg
For more information, contact Dan Reich at 314-442-3714 or DReich@JFedSTL.org.