The annual Joy Meadows art contest
is open June 1-August 15, 2025.

At Joy Meadows, we want to learn from you about individuals, families, and communities affected by foster care. What is a story that needs to be told? Who has a voice that needs to be shared? Is there a certain person that has inspired you? What are some of the impacts of foster care that people might not consider? 

Using poetry, art, and photography, we would like you to answer the annual theme and make your voice heard. 

Entries must draw on the competition question: I wish you knew…

There are three categories in the competition: (1) Poetry; (2) Art; or (3) Photography. 

All submissions are given a unique entry number so they are anonymous to the judging process. We kindly request that the title be written on the entry to help with the identification of the submission and to keep the artist/author’s name anonymous. All other details about the entrant should be confined to the entry form. Judges’ decisions are final.

There is no entry fee. 

Only one entry to each category per individual will be accepted. Entrants may enter multiple categories (for example, one poem and one photograph may be entered by the same individual). However, an individual may only be the winner of one category in the contest. Any child, age five to nineteen is eligible to enter the contest. 

Winners will be notified on, or before, October 1, 2025.

Entries from entrants under the age of 16 must be submitted by an adult (e.g., parent/guardian/case worker) on behalf of the entrant. The adult submitting the competition entry will be required to agree to the Joy Meadows rules by way of a check-box form on the online form or physical entry. The copyright of each entry remains with the creator. However, by entering the competition, the entrant grants Joy Meadows the right to publish or broadcast their work. The individual may determine if their name will be kept confidential.

Poem
Your Poem should relate to the topic, “I wish you knew”

All poems must have a title and must not exceed 40 lines in length.

Poems should consist of the contestant’s own work and should not infringe any copyright or rights of others or any third parties.

Poetry written using AI will not be accepted.

Poems should be typed or legibly handwritten.

Artwork

Your artwork should address the topic, “I Wish You Knew…”

All artwork must have a title.

Artwork may be in the form of sculptures, paintings, sketches and digital mediums.

Artwork should consist of the contestant’s own work and should not infringe any copyright or rights of others or any third parties.

Artwork using AI will not be accepted.

Artwork may be produced in any medium such as water colors, pastels, charcoals, pencils, acrylic, crayons, paper cuttings, oil paints, photography or digital media. 

When submitting your entry, we ask that you share a high quality photograph or scan of your artwork; we may request the original work of art if needed. 

Photography

Your photograph should address the topic, “I Wish You Knew…”

All photography must have a title.

Photography should consist of the contestant’s own work and should not infringe any copyright or rights of others or any third parties. Images should be no smaller than 1mb and no larger than 5MB. Images should be JPEG files.

Each entry may be one single photo, or a collection of up to 3 photographs as a single entry.

Photography using AI will not be accepted.