American Heroes Student Art Contest

Submission Deadline: NOW EXTENDED: Monday, June 1, 2026, 11:59pm EST

Eligibility: Any student in grades 3–12 who is a legal resident of any of the 50 states or 6 U.S. territories is eligible to enter.

Submission Requirements: Participating students should create and submit an original, handmade two-dimensional artwork and a 200-word artist statement (100 words for elementary students). Use the steps outlined in the section below.

Submission Categories: Upper Elementary School Students (Grades 3-5); Middle School Students (Grades 6-8); High School Students (Grades 9-12).

Judging Criteria: A panel of artists and educators will evaluate submissions based on age-level artistic excellence and technical skill, creativity and innovation, relevance to the submission requirements, and clarity and meaning of the artist statement.

Awards: Up to 168 first-place awardees (up to 1 student from each age group category representing 56 each state and territory) and their designated parent/guardian will receive a travel and lodging allowance to travel to Washington, D.C., July 7-9, 2026, to attend a Student Art Exhibition and Award Ceremony at the Great American State Fair, recognizing state, regional, and overall winners. Award recipients will be notified in early June 2026.

How to Enter the Contest:

Students must develop submissions individually and may not enter as a group. Artwork must be handmade. No AI or digital media artwork is permitted.

1. Choose a Hero from History, from the provided list for the National Garden of American Heroes. Download the At-a-Glance List of 250 American Heroes and the  American Heroes Biographies for more information about each one.

2. Create an original, handmade Two-Dimensional Work of Art (painting, mixed media, film-based photograph, or drawing; no AI or digital art), no larger than 24-inches in height and width, that depicts your selected American Hero or one aspect of his or her life:

   • A Portrait of the American Hero,
   • A Place that was significant to the American Hero,
   • A Key Historical Event for which the Hero is known,
   • An Object or Symbol representing an important aspect of the Hero, OR
   • An American Cultural Practice that is associated with this Hero.

3. Download the Artist Statement Planning Worksheet. In approximately 200 words (100 for elementary students) and answering two or three of the following prompts:

   1. Describe the subject of your artwork: Which American Hero did you choose, and how does your artwork represent this historical figure?
   2. Share why your artwork's subject is important (or matters): Why does this matter to our nation, to your community, and to you? What might this person teach us about living heroically?
   3. Explain how your artwork was influenced by a particular historical American art style or artist from the last 250 years. Download a Slide Deck of American Art Styles.

4. With the help of a parent, guardian, or teacher, submit your artwork onto the ArtCall Submission Platform with a high-resolution photo or digital scan, along with the artist statement. Students under the age of 18 are required to submit a signed parent or legal guardian permission form available on and submitted through the ArtCall Submission Platform.

The American Heroes Student Art Contest is made possible by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Freedom 250 and NEH invite youth across America to celebrate the nation’s 250th Birthday through original artwork and essays, inspired by a favorite historical American hero - the statesmen, athletes, scholars, artists, musicians, scientists, entrepreneurs, and more - to be honored in statues in the forthcoming National Garden of American Heroes. Seize the moment by standing on the shoulders of great American leaders and artists of the past and create a new expression of American art and patriotism today!

For more information about the American Heroes Student Art Contest, including official contest rules, judging criteria, submission requirements, please refer to the ArtCall Submission Platform.