by Carolyn Joswig-Jones, LWV Pullman Board Member and Visual Arts Competition Co-Coordinator

In 2022, we initiated a civics education program aimed at fostering an understanding of, and engagement with, government among students in grades 3-12. The program encourages students to channel their artistic talents toward themes aligned with League positions. Its inception stemmed from our surplus of "The State We’re In: Washington," LWVWA textbooks, which we sought to utilize creatively. One of our initial ideas was to organize an art competition, which we later transformed into an annual program.

For the inaugural year, the theme was "What Does Democracy Look Like to You?" We provided participants with the definition of democracy directly from the textbook, a concept both straightforward and intricate, suitable for the age range of student artists. Our program launched on Presidents Day in February 2022, and with a committee of three members, we diligently spread the word to schools, libraries, social media platforms, and our website. Students had until the end of March to unleash their creativity. Although we only received 12 entries, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality and diversity of submissions. The participating students were genuinely engaged in the process! We assembled a panel of four community judges to assess the entries and held an Artists' Reception at our local library to acknowledge all participants, awarding the winners with prizes of $50 and a copy of "The State We’re In: Washington."

Our enthusiasm for the program continued to grow, leading to the expansion of our committee to 12 dedicated members for the second annual competition in 2023. That year's theme, "eARTh Art - Civics and the natural world are connected: How does this affect your future?" was also sourced directly from the The State We’re In textbook. We enhanced our outreach efforts last year through mass emails and developed an educational in-person and PowerPoint presentation centered around the theme. This PowerPoint presentation was made available on our website for both parents and students as a valuable reference. The result was an impressive increase in participation, with 40 entries received!

In 2023, we opted for a panel consisting of nine community judges to evaluate the submissions. Once more, we organized the Artists' Reception at our local library, where the staff played a crucial role in arranging a splendid showcase for the artwork.  A PowerPoint presentation featuring all the artwork is available on the LWV Pullman website. In May 2023, all the pieces were showcased at the 3 Forks Art Walk and the Whitman County Library in November. The final showcase will be at the Whitman County Library during the month of November. All of the original pieces of art were returned to their creators, but copies of their artwork will continue to be used by the Pullman League for social media and for educational purposes.    

By using the The State We’re In textbook as our source, we “speak with one voice,” as the League and are assured of its value as a resource for crafting upcoming themes. Visit the LWV Pullman website to explore details about our previous competitions, and don't hesitate to reach out to the Pullman League if you have any inquiries about launching a similar program within your League.