Image via Hyperallergic
Yesterday, tons of news sites and newspapers reported on the social media backlash against Old Navy’s toddler t-shirts which read “Young Aspiring Artist” with a line through the word “Artist” and replaced with “Astronaut” or “President.” Artnet called the t-shirts “hateful” and Hyperallergic posted: “The shirts, which each carry a price tag of $9.94, are meant for toddlers, sending the message that one should just quash any creative drive as early as possible.”
By late afternoon, Old Navy issued an apology, stating that it has removed the t-shirts from its website and is working to remove them from its stores.
In order to support young aspiring artists, here are a few current art contests around Texas:
The 20th annual Adopt-a-Beach Children’s Art Contest
Open to all Texas students (public, private, and home-schooled) in grades K-6. Artwork should be based on the theme “Treasures of the Texas Coast” and should depict why the Texas coast is important or special to the student. The 40 winning artworks will appear together in a 2017 calendar, which will be distributed throughout the state. But the Grand Prize winner wins two round-trip airline tickets, a week-long Carribean cruise, and a class party at Schlitterbahn. The winner’s teacher also receives some similarly awesome prizes. Deadline: March 2.
DART’s 2016 Student Art Contest
Open to students in K-12 (the rules don’t seem to specify that the artist must be from Dallas, or even Texas). Designs should illustrate the theme “DART to discovery.” Prizes seem vague, but kind of cool: “Your art could win a spot on DART buses and trains, plus $1,000 or other prizes.” Deadline: February 29.
6th annual TxDOT Port Aransas Ferry Art Contest
There are two categories for this contest, under 18 and over 18. Winning entries will be displayed on the Port Aransas ferry system. Deadline: February 29.
KIDS: Go make some art!
