Arlington's Climate Action Art Contest

Deadline for submissions is April 30, 2026 at 11:55 PM EST.

Theme: Our Arlington. Our Climate. Our Future.

Calling all Young Artists!

Arlington County invites students of all ages to participate in the vision of the Climate Action Plan through creative expression. Whether you paint, draw, photograph, or create digitally, we want to see how you imagine our community taking action on climate change. This is your chance to make your voice, and your art, count. Submissions from students of all grade levels are welcome. Let your creativity inspire our neighbors, spark conversations, and help shape Arlington's climate story.

Contest Categories:

Choose a prompt to get started!

Climate Emergency: Show the urgency of climate change. Our Earth is getting too hot and we need help to fix it. What is happening to our planet right now? What worries you the most? What do you want adults to understand?

Future Arlington: Imagine our County being clean, green (environmentally friendly) and a vibrant place for everyone. What does our County look like when we protect the environment? How do we, as a community, keep it up?
You, Your Family & Climate Change: Share 1 – 3 simple things you and your family can do to help the Earth.

Contest Guidelines:

Print Contest Guidelines(PDF, 149KB)

Print Contest Guidelines in Spanish(PDF, 124KB)

Submission Deadline & How to Enter

Deadline to Enter: April 30, 2026, 11:55 PM EST.

Who Can Enter: Open to all Arlington K-12 students. Please only one (1) entry per participant.

How to Enter: Upload a digital photo/scan using our Open Forms link by 11:55 p.m. on Thursday, April 30, 2026.

Upload your artwork here

Media Accepted

Traditional Art: Crayons, markers, watercolor, tempera paint, acrylic paint, ink or fine line pens, and collages.
Digital Art: Artwork made on a tablet or computer, saved as a high-resolution JPG, PNG, or PDF (300 dpi minimum).
Photography: Upload a high-resolution JPG, PNG, or PDF (300 dpi minimum).
Poems: Word document or PDF.

Judging & Prizes

Judging Criteria:

Entries will be separated into three age categories: Elementary, Middle, and High School. Judges will evaluate artwork on:

Relevance to the chosen theme/prompt
Creativity and originality
Technique

Prizes:

Winning artwork will be included in Arlington County’s Climate Action Plan and shared on County platforms, e.g., Arlington Video Group channels.
Winners and their artwork will be recognized at a County Board meeting.
First place winners will receive a treat for their class.
All participants will get a certificate of appreciation.

A promotional poster titled “Climate Action Art Contest” from Arlington, Virginia. The tagline reads “Our Arlington. Our Climate. Our Future.” The contest is for students in grades K–12. The poster lists three prompt choices: Climate Emergency — Show the urgency of climate change. Future Arlington — Imagine Arlington as a sustainable and vibrant community. You, Your Family & Climate Change — Share one to three things families can do to help the planet. The poster instructs students to pick any 2D art format such as drawing, painting, collage, digital art, or poetry, and to submit artwork by scanning a QR code shown on the poster. A small illustration shows a person standing next to an image of Earth with a recycling symbol. The submission deadline is April 30, 2026, at 11:55 PM EST.

(PDF, 3MB)

Afiche del “Concurso de arte sobre acción climática” del condado de Arlington, Virginia, con el tema “Nuestro Arlington. Nuestro clima. Nuestro futuro.” Abierto a estudiantes de K–12. Presenta tres temas: Emergencia climática, El futuro de Arlington y Tú, tu familia y el cambio climático. Se aceptan obras artísticas en formato 2D como dibujo, pintura, collage, arte digital o poema. Incluye una ilustración de una persona sosteniendo el planeta Tierra y un código QR para enviar la obra y consultar las bases. Fecha límite de envío: 30 de abril de 2026 a las 11:55 p. m.