Is there a global issue that really speaks to you? Immigration, COVID-19, or climate change, perhaps? With the Global Young Leaders Summer Art Contest, bring your art supplies to the table and create a piece – whether it’s photography, drawing, painting, sculpture, or mixed media – that represents your passion for your chosen subject.
The contest runs every summer from May 1 to July 31. Only one entry per student. Eligible students must be 9th-12th grade students for the current academic year, but graduating seniors may also participate. Eligible students must currently live in Texas.
Prizes: 1st place: $100; 2nd Place: $75; 3rd Place: $50
2023 Winners
Please Stop
1st Place
Title: Please Stop
Artist: Anonymous
My art piece embodies the theme of “Global Issues” by illustrating gun violence. Gun violence threatens our most fundamental human right, the right to life. Millions worldwide are wounded, killed, or upended by the disruption of people with guns. In my painting, there are hands from Heaven that are reaching out and protecting the human from the fired bullet. Additionally, there are transparent hands, which represent the hands of past victims of gun violence, who are trying to save the child from facing the same ending as them. This shows how gun violence can take the lives of many and that no one should ever experience it, hence the help from Heaven.
The Age of Hyper-surveillance
2nd Place
Title: The Age of Hyper-surveillance
Artist: Kush Kaur, Liberty High School, Class of 2025
“The Age of Hyper-surveillance” is a piece of artwork that delves into the perils of hyper-surveillance in fascist and communist countries that usually goes unnoticed by citizens in free countries. This piece conveys the perils of this dilemma using vivid imagery such as dead branches tainted with bright red blood and symbolic elements including a bleeding eye featuring the hammer and the sickle in the pupil. This piece serves as a poignant reminder of the consequences of unchecked surveillance on individual freedoms and human rights. By embodying the theme of “global issues,” the artwork prompts viewers to reflect on the universal implications of surveillance systems that can infringe upon privacy and personal liberties in fascist governments and its stealthy spread worldwide.
The Devastation of Destitution
3rd Place
Title: The Devastation of Destitution
Artist: Amy Campos, Billy Ryan High School, Class of 2026
My art piece embodies the theme “Global Issues” in the form of poverty. I hear about poor people living in Africa struggling to support their family. However, just out in the streets, I see homeless people begging for money. Poverty is one of the biggest global issues the world faces everywhere, and people are undernourished, have poor health, and have less or no education. My oil pastel are piece has an American child and and African child due to the fact that poverty is everywhere which really spoke to me because I would like to help in some way or another.
2022 Winners
Reflections on the Past
1st Place
Title: Reflections on the Past
Artist: Zahra Khatri, Jasper High School
Pollution has devastated marine habitats for creatures great and small. There’s an island of trash known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch which is now twice the size of Texas, and it’s still expanding. Sea creatures must navigate filthy waters filled with plastic and ghost nets. I wonder how whales, being extremely intelligent creatures, feel about this. My art piece is trying to imagine how a whale might reach for the memory of a lost past of boundless clean water.
The Uyghur Plea
2nd Place
Title: The Uyghur Plea
Artist: Sufiya Khatri, Plano Senior High School
This artwork depicts the calamity the Uyghur Muslims of China are facing at this very moment. One of the major global issues we have been facing for the past centuries has been genocide or ethnic cleansing. China has been committing this heinous crime against the Uyghur community in their country similar to the way Germany committed genocide against their Jewish community during the Holocaust. Uyghur women and men are being sent to concentration camps and facing organ harvesting for simply following a religion. Unfortunately, there is so little coverage over this issue and many people don’t even know about this problem, but I hope this artwork and others to follow can bring light to this tragedy.
100,000,000
3rd Place
Title: 100,000,000
Artist: Carmel Canete
The issue of refugees is something we look at and often ignore. According to the UNHCR, 100 million people were displaced or forced to flee their homes in 2022 alone. I wanted my piece to show how often we walk past refugees, asylum seekers, etc. because we believe it is not our problem. We ignore them. They could be standing in the middle of the street, and we would stroll past all 100,000,000 of them.
2021 Winners
Water for Life
1st Place
Title: Water for Life
Artist: Amaris Shi
I found myself drawn to this idea when I thought about the people in this world, nearby and faraway. Each individual has a unique story and unique circumstances. I drew inspiration from tales of people in different walks of life and different ages, including myself. Through my work, the viewer can experience the emotions of each individual, as if being transported to their world for a moment in time.
Since the beginning, water has been intricately tied to us. Beyond our daily basic needs, water has defined our history and is an important symbol in many cultures. For example, farming, the institution that has allowed us to settle down and build the cities we have today, was heavily dependent on the presence of water. However, today many areas of the world are lacking this vital resource. Billions live without access to safe water or sanitation, and even so, some have to travel on foot for hours to provide a mere day’s water supply to their families. This is even more dangerous during this global pandemic, when these people have to struggle to simply wash their hands. By spreading awareness using my artwork, we can not only lessen the effects of the water crisis and fight poverty, but provide a means to keep clean and fight the spread of COVID-19.
Puppets of Men
2nd Place
Title: Puppets of Men
Artist: Anonymous
To portray the issue of capitalism in our society, I created a puppeteer to represent the dominance of the wealth have over the working class. Using compositional hierarchy, I purposefully drew the capitalist leader above and larger than the workers/puppets to show control and power. I chose to make the business owner a puppeteer because they are the ones who have significant influence in our society and economy. The working class is portrayed as puppets because they are only used as tools to please business owners in their endeavors of attaining wealth.
The Factory
3rd Place
Title: The Factory
Artist: Jenna Garcia, Lovejoy High School
This piece embodies the theme “global issues” be representing the issues of climate change and carbon emissions in the atmosphere. The painting depicts a factory covered by a white cloud of emissions that then flow into the surrounding environment, suggesting catastrophic environmental damage. The piece also depicts a skyline of red and yellow hues suggesting the rising global temperatures that result from these types of activities.