The Dexter R. Stanton Essay and Visual Art Contest
MLK Day Essay and Visual Art Contest
Celebrate Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by submitting visual art, an essay, or a spoken word piece inspired by his work. St Cloud, Sauk Rapids, and Sartell school district students are invited to creatively express their thoughts and reflections on his legacy. Work will exhibit and awards will be announced at the Annual MLK Everyday Community Celebration January 18-22, 2025.
This year's event theme is, Our beloved community: Empowering the Dream.
The MLK quote for the contest is from 1967, MLK Jr’s Blueprint for Life speech. “Deep belief in your own dignity, your own worth, and your own somebodiness. Don’t let anybody make you feel that you are nobody. Always feel that you count, always feel you have worth, always feel your life has ultimate significance.” — Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Dexter R. Stanton
Contest Overview & Details
Contest Overview
Due Date: 5 p.m. Monday, December 9, 2024
How to Enter: Submit work to your school office for us to pick up OR deliver to SCSU Office for Institutional Equity and Access, AS 121 OR email mlk@stcloudstate.edu.
Requirements Follow the instructions based on your grade group. In addition to your entry, a brief artist statement will help the judges understand your work and thought process.
Awards: Given during the MLK Everyday Community Celebration, January 20, 2025.
Contest Details
Contest Quote
This year’s event theme is, Our beloved community: Empowering the Dream. The MLK quote for the contest is from 1967, MLK Jr’s Blueprint for Life speech. “Deep belief in your own dignity, your own worth, and your own somebodyness. Don’t let anybody make you feel that you are nobody. Always feel that you count, always feel you have worth, always feel your life has ultimate significance.”
How do you take care of yourself (your dignity, worth, value) while empowering MLK’s dream? How does that action help MLK's dream come closer to reality? Create either a visual, written, or spoken piece that expresses your understanding of the quote and questions. For high school and college students, also add, what is the impact of taking action by caring for yourself and empowering MLK’s dream?
File Formats
Artwork originals under 24" and writings can be submitted to your school office for pick up. Or you can scan/photograph the work and submit a Word document, PDF, JPG, MP4, MOV.
Submission Limit: One creative entry per person.
Judging
While the quality of work is important, judging is also based on the relevance to the quote and questions, plus the artist's statement. Work needs to be original.
