Annual K-12 Art Calendar Contest is Open!

Once again, NAMEPA is proud to announce the opening of the annual K-12 Art Calendar Contest along with the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Inter-American Committee on the Port of the Organization of American States (CIP-OAS).  This year’s theme aligns with that of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) World Maritime Day– “Seafarers: at the core of shipping’s future”.  Students enrolled in grades K-12 living in the Americas (North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean) are welcome to submit their original artwork.  Students living outside the Americas are welcome to apply, provided they have one or more parents on active duty with the U. S. Coast Guard.

Students are asked to submit an original poster that creatively depicts the vital role seafarers play in global shipping.

Maritime shipping has existed for thousands of years – ever since the earliest humans took to the water to find food, building supplies, exchange goods and adventure.  Throughout its history, shipping has evolved into the most environmentally friendly and safest way to transport goods around the world.  Today, the maritime shipping industry transports about 90% of the items people use every day like clothes, cars, furniture, toothbrushes, phones and computers. In essence, global trade relies on shipping. And shipping relies on seafarers. 

The global pandemic has brought into focus the important role seafarers place in the maritime industry.  Many seafarers have been facing extended time at sea due to restrictions put in place by the pandemic – some going months without seeing family.  As we enter 2021 the focus on the well-being of seafarers’ health and safety is forefront in the safe delivery of the world’s goods and energy. 

Can you think of ways to depict seafarers as the heart of the maritime industry?  Students are asked to submit an original poster, by March 31, 2021, depicting creative ideas about the vital role seafarers play in global shipping.   

Twelve finalists (six from grades K-5 and six from grades 6-12) will be selected as finalists by May 17, 2021, and will be required to submit their original artwork upon being notified as a finalist.   The winning artwork will be featured on the NAMEPA, USCG and CIP-OAS websites as well as on a printed bilingual (English & Spanish) calendar distributed throughout the Americas.  Finalists will receive a certificate and a calendar with the artwork from all 12 winners.  Two grand-prize winning artists (chosen from the finalists in each of the grade brackets) will receive, in addition to the certificate and calendar,  a $100 cash prize and a U.S. Coast Guard prize package.

The contest is open until March 31, 2021.  For more information, rules and how to submit please visit: https://namepa.net/education/art-contest/   (En Español:  www.namepa.net/concurso-de-arte)