Category: Youth Art Month

Youth Art Month: Flag Contest –

Celebrate Youth Art Month – Have your students enter the Youth Art Month Flag Contest. This contest is open to students in grades K-12. Each teacher may submit up to 10 entries. The submission deadline is January 13, 2023.

This year’s theme is YOUR ART YOUR VOICE.

One Grand Prize winner will receive a $200 art supply gift card for winning student. PLUS $100 art supply gift card for your classroom. And to top it off, the grand prize work will be displayed at NAEA’s national convention in San Antonia, Texas!!!

In addition, $100 art supply gift cards will be awarded to one student winner in grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Plus an additional $100 art supply gift card for the winning students’ classrooms.

Learn more about the Youth Art Month Flag Contest here.

Youth Art Month Flag Contest

Do you know about the Massachusetts Art Education Association’s annual Flag Contest?  Youth Art Month Committee Chair Amy Hussey has some ideas for you to make participation this year easier! 

Each year MAEA hosts a statewide flag contest open to all student artists in Massachusetts. Every visual arts educator in the state is invited to submit up to ten flags for the contest. “Flags” are essentially posters created on paper and don’t require any special equipment or supplies. The winning design is printed on a fabric flag by the MAEA Youth Art Month committee and displayed. 

There are four categories (k-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12) with generous prizes for winning artists AND their teachers in each category. And the Grand Prize winning flag is sent to represent Massachusetts at the National NAEA convention! What an honor for a young artist to have their work displayed in a national capacity to represent their state!

I know the idea of adding “one more thing” to an art teacher’s already packed schedule and curriculum can feel impossible, but I have some tips and tricks to make participating quite doable and well worthwhile.

First, I make participation in the contest a requirement for one grade level only. Students in all grades are encouraged to participate as time allows, or they can create a flag at home if they don’t have enough studio time.  

I find the flag contest the perfect jumping off point to teach about the work of graphic designers. In our highly visual environment, it is essential young people learn to recognize the influence of graphic media on the feelings they elicit and the choices we make. We then work as a class to examine a variety of print and digital media paying attention to the font, images, colors and even symbols. It is exciting to see the light bulbs come on as young artists begin to recognize some of the subtle messaging presented. This is followed by small groups who work together to identify examples of graphic design and share ideas about the target audience, the intended message, and how that was communicated with images and text.

The following class period I introduce the flag contest and the criteria for entry. With a quick Google search, we looked at several previous winning flags.  Students are asked to look at the flag and see if they can deduce what the theme or message was the year the flag was created. 

Finally it is time to start brainstorming ways one might represent the theme of the year’s contest.  Last year the theme was Art Connects Us – I was impressed with the ideas students shared including, puzzle pieces, bridges, plant roots, gears, hands, etc. We also included a google search for symbols and images showing connection. Students then went on to generate several ideas and select one to develop further into a draft on the same size “rough draft” paper.  When artists were satisfied with their idea and had checked spelling, they moved on to Final Flag paper.

I chose to leave the media options open to anything that particular grade level has experience working with. This is a great option for my students as they don’t require much support around the technical skills of using media and student motivation is increased with the media choices available.

Being able to submit the flags digitally is another bonus. No trip to the post office! And I was able to use the physical flags around the school to promote our program and the importance of visual arts education.  

I hope you will find these tips helpful and that you too will participate in the 2023 Youth Art Month Flag Contest. Registration details coming soon!

Through Young Eyes – CCIAEA and Cape Cod Museum of Art YAM Exhibit

The Cape Cod Museum of Art and the Cape Cod & Islands Art Educators Association (CCIAEA) is presenting Through Young Eyes from February 11 – April 18. This annual exhibition features the work of Cape Cod students in grades K-12. The artwork of 50 students has been curated into this exhibition by art teachers from across the region. 10 teachers also have their work on display. Mediums include sculpture, painting, printmaking, collage, jewelry making, metal working, drawing, ceramics & multi-media art.

This exhibition raises awareness of Youth Art Month, organized by the Massachusetts Art Education Association, celebrating the value of art education and art participation for all children in Massachusetts during the month of March each year.

More information about the exhibit can be found on the Regional YAM Exhibit page. 

Featured image credit: Nevaeha Melton, “My Thoughts on 2020”, Falmouth High School 

Youth Art Month: Statewide Virtual Exhibit Registration Now Open

March is Youth Art Month. There are many ways to participate in Youth Art Month 2021.

One way to join in on the Youth Art Month fun is by participating in the Statewide Youth Art Month Virtual exhibit! Join teachers from across the state as they celebrate the amazing work of their students.

All participating teachers for the Statewide Youth Art Month exhibit must register. Registration for the Statewide Youth Art Month Exhibit is free for MAEA members | Non-members pay $7.  Registration closes January 29, 2021.

Find more information and register for the Statewide Youth Art Month exhibit here.

Statewide YAM & MAEA Recognitions Exhibit – Exhibit Update

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak the State Transportation Building in Boston, where MAEA manages the 2nd Floor Atrium Gallery space, is currently closed to the public. The Statewide Youth Art Month exhibit and the Massachusetts Amazing Emerging Artists Recognitions exhibit, which were scheduled to come down March 26 will continue to stay on display until we have a better idea of when we can get the show down and work returned back to teachers and students.
If you need a piece returned to you sooner please contact us and we will do our best to make arrangements.
Please contact:

We are in uncharted territory and we appreciate your understanding and support as we navigate this together.

We are happy to share that the professional photographs taken at the Family Day Celebration have been shared with us. You can find the images here . Please feel free to share with your students and their families.

Youth Art Month Central MA Exhibit – Virtual Tour

The Family Reception at the Worcester Art Museum was scheduled for this weekend, and while that was cancelled, we are happy to share the virtual tour for you to enjoy.

Congratulations and thank you to all the students with work in the exhibit, the teachers who support and inspire them, and to the group of teachers who annually volunteer their time to coordinate this exhibition. Thank you to the to the Worcester Art Museum for their continued support. And finally a huge thanks to Amanda Bastien, the Central MA Regional Exhibition Committee Chair and Elizabeth Buck the WAM Manager of Studio Class Programs.

Youth Art Month Regional Exhibit Cancellations

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak there have been a number of closings and cancellations. Please check in with institutions directly before visiting for updated information.

Youth Art Month 2020: Central MA Regional Exhibition

The exhibit has been extended until April 13. If you need to get student work back sooner, please contact Amanda Bastien, Youth Art Month Committee Chair for the Central MA Regional Exhibition
The Family reception scheduled for March 22 has been cancelled. Please visit the Worcester Art Museum website for updated information.
View the Youth Art Month exhibit virtually here.

Cape Cod – Cape Code Museum of Art – Through Young Eyes

The reception scheduled for March 19 has been cancelled. 

Cape Cod – Cape Cod Art Center – Beginnings
The high school exhibit scheduled for March 16-20 and the reception scheduled for March 20 have been cancelled. 

Join us at the Youth Art Month Family Day Celebration – March 1

We are looking forward to celebrating all the amazing artists with work in the juried MAEA Recognitions exhibit and the Statewide Youth Art Month exhibit on March 1, 2020 from 12:00 – 4:00 pm.

The exhibits are on view Now – March 26, 2020 at the State Transportation Building, Second Floor Atrium Gallery, 10 Park Plaza, Boston, MA. If you are planning to join us at this event, please RSVP today!

Congratulations to the 2020 Youth Art Month Flag Contest winners, including the Grand Prize winner Haylee Wagner from Shepherd Hill Regional High School. See all the winning designs and honorable mentions here.

We are also looking for volunteers to help take down the exhibit on March 28. Sign up to volunteer today!