As part of its 75th Anniversary celebration, CSTE will host an art contest at the 2026 Annual Conference, May 30 - June 3, in Boston.
Abbreviated Rules for all promotional/marketing of Contest:
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Must be a US resident, current CSTE member and 18 or older at the time of entry. Sweepstakes ends 05/08/2026 AT 11:59 PM ET. Subject to Official Rules. Void where prohibited.
Eligibility
The CSTE 75th anniversary art contest is open to all current CSTE members.
Submission Requirements
- Art can represent the following mediums: Drawing and painting (i.e., pencil, charcoal, pastels, colored pencils, oil paints, acrylics, water media, mixed media/collage) and original digital creations (which may not include AI or digital image generation of any kind).
- Artwork must be an original work of the member, created by hand without the use of AI or digital image generation of any kind. Original digital artwork is allowed, but must be the sole and full creation of the member.
- Artwork should connect to our 75th Anniversary theme: CSTE at 75 Years – Honoring Our Past, Celebrating Our Future.
Submitting Entries
- The CSTE 75th Anniversary Art Contest submission period begins at noon, Friday, April 10, 2026 and concludes on Friday, May 8, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.
- For CSTE planning purposes, members are encouraged but not required to indicate their interest in and plan to submit artwork by indicating their interest in participating.
- Artwork is limited to one entry per CSTE member.
- Artwork should be submitted as a high resolution (e.g. minimum of 2,400 pixels by 2,400 pixels) image of the member's original artwork.
- Each file must be under 5 Megabytes in size.
- Artwork must be submitted in .jpg or .png format.
- The submission must include an Artist’s Statement that addresses the following: In three sentences or less describe the central subject or theme of your piece and how it connects to the CSTE 75th anniversary theme. Explain why you chose specific colors, styles, or media. Explain what you want the viewer to feel about CSTE’s 75th anniversary after viewing your work.
- Artwork and the artist’s statement must be submitted through the CSTE Smartsheet Form.
Criteria
Entries will be evaluated based on originality, interpretation of subject matter/theme, and overall art appearance.
Judging
Contest judges will be comprised of CSTE staff and/or the CSTE Executive Board. If more than 10 submissions are received an internal CSTE staff round of judging will be conducted, scored based on the criteria above. The CSTE Executive Board will review the top 10 submissions and make a selection s based on the above-mentioned criteria to determine the overall grand-prize contest winner. CSTE conference attendees will have the opportunity to vote on a member “fan favorite” winner based on the above criteria while on-site at the Annual Conference. Artwork will be displayed at the Annual Conference with a QR code for “fan favorite” voting for each of the top 10 submissions.
Awards
A grand-prize winner will be selected from all entries. The member “fan favorite” will be voted on by CSTE onsite attendees of the CSTE 2026 Annual Conference in Boston, MA.
The winners will be announced the last day of the CSTE 2026 Annual Conference, Wednesday, May 3, in Boston, MA.
The Grand Prize winner and the member “fan favorite” will receive a plaque/certificate, a free one-year CSTE membership renewal, and a CSTE 75th anniversary swag bag. The winners’ artwork will also be framed and displayed in CSTE’s national office located in Atlanta, GA.
Official Rules
When submitting artwork, you must agree to the following Official Rules. They have been listed here for your convenience, but are also available for review when you submit artwork.