As schools face more and more budget cuts, arts education is often the first thing on the chopping block. But passionate arts students are doing something about it through the Make Art. Save Art. campaign at DoSomething.org.
This innovative campaign invited students to text in their images via MMS. DoSomething.org then posted the images online and invited the artists to share their artwork with this call to action:
The key to advocating is getting your voice heard… Sharing online is a great way to spread the word and raise awareness about the importance of art education (not to mention, a great way to help you win!). Sharing with state and local representatives is also really important. They’re the ones who decide what schools need to include in their core curriculum. So, be sure to share your artwork on your state senator and state Representatives facebook and twitter pages!
Thousands of entries flooded in via MMS and email, each with a personal statement from the artists about what art means to them. The top ten finalists would be the students whose work got the most social network “shares” – which meant that students had a real incentive to get the word out. From the ten finalists, judges like Nigel Barker and Tinsel Korey selected the winner, Ijeoma from Savannah, Georgia.
Titled “Colorful Component of Me,” Ijeoma’s striking image earned her the grand prize of a $1,000 scholarship and a personal laptop computer for herself, as well as $5,000 for arts education in her school.
You can see the full gallery of images, and learn more about the initiative, on the Make Art. Save Art. website.