Overview of the Annual High School Art Show
In celebration of student art, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) sponsors the Annual Superintendent’s High School Art Show. For over 50 years, it has been a favorite event for many. It is the culmination of a selection process that begins across the state in each of the nine educational service districts (ESDs). In the winter, teachers submit student artwork to their local ESD’s regional art show. Regional winners selected at each ESD are sent to OSPI for review by a jury of artists, arts administrators, and art educators. Selected pieces are elevated for special recognition along with nominations from the Governor and several statewide education and arts organizations. See entries from past Art Shows posted on the OSPI website.
NWESD’s Regional High School Art Show
The 2025 NWESD Regional High School Art Show will be exhibited online only.
Students must be enrolled in a public high school or a Tribal Compact School in Washington.
All artwork submitted to the High School Art Show MUST be completely original. If artwork is determined to be a copy, it will be disqualified from the Art Show.
Each submission must include:
- Contact information for the student, parent/guardian, and teacher
- Artwork entry information
- High-quality photo of the artwork (up to 4 images)
- Signed release (by student and parent)
The deadline for submitting artwork is TBD.
Artwork that is not acceptable in a school district, due to policy and practice, is not acceptable at the regional or state level. Artwork must be appropriate for a K-12 setting.
Important Dates
NWESD Regional Show Dates:
| Online Artwork Entry Deadline | TBD |
| Virtual Artwork Gallery Live | TBD |
| Judging Completed | TBD |
| NWESD winners announced | TBD |
| OSPI Statewide Art Show Ceremony & Recognition | TBD |
Eligibility
Any high school student (public, private or home school) in grades 9-12 is eligible to enter the regional art show. Only students who are enrolled in public schools are eligible for awards.
Awards
NWESD 2025 Awards:
- Regional Winner Awards (per OSPI quota). These pieces will advance to OSPI’s state-level art show (no monetary award at the regional level).
- One (1) $200 “NWESD Staff Choice” Purchase Award. The NWESD reserves the right to choose the method used to determine the piece to be purchased. The selected piece will become a permanent part of the High School Art Show Gallery at the NWESD.
- Scholarship awards to be determined.
OSPI 2025 Awards:
All OSPI Art Show participants receive a certificate from the Superintendent. Selected artworks will be given special recognition with a cash award of $200 and a trophy. Honorable Mention awards will receive a certificate only. All statewide award-winning artworks will be returned after a one-year exhibition period.
Artwork Photography Instructions
To maximize the quality of the show, we recommend the following guidelines for your photograph submissions:
- All files should be named with the following convention: [StudentLastName]-[FirstName]-[ArtworkTitle]-[School]-[image#].jpg
- Please do not submit files with the artwork title “Untitled”.
- Digital photographs or digital artwork can be submitted directly as JPG files.
- Upload files as JPGs when submitting the entry form. Files should be larger than 200kb and smaller than 5mb. (Original size from your phone camera, not downsized or compressed.)
- Photos of artwork will be professionally edited to ensure equitable representation and continuity throughout the NWESD art show. Follow the guidelines below for non-digital mediums to maximize successful editing.
Ceramics and 3D Artwork Photo Guidelines:
- Photograph your artwork on a solid-colored background that provides sufficient contrast with your piece.
- Photograph in a well-lit area, near a window, and with a lamp pointing behind the piece (if possible).
- Do not use a flash.
- Take 2-3 photos from different angles to highlight the features of your piece. Take close-ups of small details. Don’t forget to photograph vases and other vessels from the top down, so judges can see the thickness.
- Take one photo with a piece of white paper resting in front of your piece. Be sure to submit this photo. It will be used to ensure the color is represented as accurately as possible.
Flatwork Photo Guidelines:
- Photograph in a well-lit area, near a window, and with a lamp pointing at the artwork in a way as to not cause glare.
- Try to shoot as straight-on as possible, but if needed to avoid glare, slight angles are okay.
- Do not use a flash.
- Take close-ups of small details for complex pieces.
- Take one photo with a piece of white paper resting in front of your piece. Be sure to submit this photo. It will be used to ensure the color is represented as accurately as possible.
- Crop your photo close to the edges of the artwork but leave a bit of space around the edge.
Artist’s Statement
The purpose of the artist’s statement is to promote reflective and critical thinking regarding visual art and to enhance visual awareness skills and processes. You may also choose to record a video of your artist statement (this will be required for any pieces moving on to the OSPI State Art Show)
Answer the following questions in a narrative style in the space provided on the registration form:
- Describe the major idea, concept or artistic problem that lies at the heart of your artwork.
- Describe the most important thing you learned from this project.
- If you were to do the piece again, what would you change or do differently?
Review & Selection Process
Review of the artwork will happen without identifying information (no student, district, school, or teacher names). A jury of artists and educators will base their scoring on three criteria that are aligned with the Washington State Arts K–12 Learning Standards:
- Creativity — Artwork demonstrates original thinking and expressive, artistic perceptions.
- Composition — Artwork demonstrates a unique and sensitive way of answering artistic questions. It illustrates student understanding of and ability to interpret the elements of art and the principles of design. It makes a unique statement.
- Technique — Artwork demonstrates student competency in using the medium to achieve the desired outcome.
Entering Artwork
Students will need to complete the 2025 NWESD Regional High School Art Show Registration Form [Form will be available during submission window], upload digital pictures of artwork, and return signed release forms. The deadline for submitting entries to the NWESD Regional High School Art Show is TBD.
Registration Form: The entry form includes an uplink function for photos.
Students are allowed to enter a maximum of 2 original pieces of art/photography.
Release form: A link to the release form is found within the submission form. The release form needs to be signed and returned to the NWESD. You can mail the signed form to NWESD or scan or take a photo of it and attach it to an email (send it to jlongchamps@nwesd.org). You can also upload your signed release form to your submission form. If you do not have a way to print the release form, contact us and we can mail you a copy.
Original Artwork
ALL artwork submitted MUST be completely original!
- If artwork is determined to be a copy, it will be disqualified from the show.
- Do NOT submit any artwork that has been copied, replicated, or manipulated from published photographs, magazines, book illustrations, or other artwork, including the Internet. If a photo is used, the original must be reviewed by the student’s teacher and approved to authenticate
- Teacher’s signatures attesting to the originality of the artwork being submitted is required.
- If there is any doubt as to the originality of a piece, the teacher should not submit it. The integrity of the teacher and student in submitting only original artwork is expected and appreciated.
- By signing the Release Form, students indicate their understanding of these rules.
Educators: if a classroom assignment involves any copying of another artist or writer’s work, even if it’s just for the purpose of practicing and learning, please direct students not to submit these works. If you have any doubt about whether a submission is original, please do not submit that artwork.
The following information was copied from and adapted, with permission, from Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
What is Copyright & Plagiarism?
Educators and students are responsible for educating themselves on copyright and plagiarism issues.
Copyright is a form of legal protection prohibiting others from copying one’s creative work
without permission. A copyright is a property right. Copyright law grants the creator of an
original work the exclusive rights for its use and distribution.
Plagiarism is an ethical violation resulting from failure to cite sources and engaging in the act of
passing someone else’s work or ideas off as one’s own. This applies even if you have only copied
a part, rather than the whole, of another’s work.
How do I know if my work is original?
An original work is one that is new and different from what others have created. This means that you are the author of the work, and the work is not copied from someone else’s original work.
Even if there is no exact or literal copying, but the average person may notice substantial similarities between the submitted work and the source material, it is possible that the work is not considered original and should not be submitted. For example:
- A pencil drawing that directly copies a celebrity portrait that was taken by another artist is not original work.
- Changing the medium—for example, creating a painting based on a photo that was taken by someone else is not original.
- A painting or drawing of a photograph taken from the Internet or a magazine is not considered original and should not be submitted.
- Cropping or resizing an image does NOT make the work transformative.