A team of five professionals from the Birmingham Project Corporate Leadership (PCL) program have partnered with The World Games 2022  to host an art competition for high school students across the state.

Kathy Boswell, World Games executive vice president of Community and Volunteer Engagement, said the art poster contest is an opportunity to discover youths’ talents and showcase their art to the world.

“This contest allows students to be a part of history,” said Boswell. “Art is a self-reflection of the heart, and we hope to share their stories with the world.”

The World Games will bring 3,600 athletes and an estimated 100,000 visitors from across the globe to Birmingham for 11 days in July 2022. The games represent a unique opportunity for Alabamians to play host to a global audience and demonstrate the hospitality and generosity of the Magic City.

Robin Ward, a PCL member and team leader at Alabama Power, said the contest organizers are looking forward to showcasing student artwork throughout Alabama and to visitors during The World Games.

“I am so excited for the opportunity to show the world what our Alabama students are capable of and having the opportunity to create keepsake posters that individuals will keep for a lifetime,” said Ward. “We hope that, through this competition, we can engage the youth of Alabama to share the same excitement and understanding of the Games.”

The contest offers three themes for poster submissions:

• The World is Coming!
• Sustainability Goals.
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Students have nine opportunities to win. Each theme will have a first-place prize of $500, a second-place prize of $250 and a third-place prize of $100. All winners will also receive World Games merchandise and event tickets.

First-place winners will have their artwork turned into posters for sale worldwide as memorabilia. All proceeds from poster sales will go to the Birmingham Promise, a nonprofit organization that provides work experiences to Birmingham City Schools students.

The competition is now open, with submissions being accepted through Jan. 31, 2022. All public, private and home-schooled students in grades 9-12 across the state can participate. An expert panel of judges will choose the winners, with an announcement slated for February.

Eligible mediums for the contest include paint/sketch, mixed media and photography. Entries must fit into one of the three specified themes.

To learn more and to submit artwork, visit https://twg2022.com/education/ and click “Art Contest.”