Sister Cities Commission Sponsoring Young Artists Showcase

Deadline for Entries is Friday, April 13

Mayor A. George Pradel and the Naperville Sister Cities Commission are proud to announce a call for entries for the 2012 Young Artists Showcase competition.

This year's contest theme is “Youth as the Catalyst for Change.” Entrants are asked to use artwork to express how communication, technology and individual initiative can lead to dramatic social change. Submissions can highlight an experience with social media, how a youth is creating change in his or her community or how global communication and exchange has had an impact on one's life.

The Young Artists Showcase is open to Naperville residents as well as Naperville Community Unit School District 203 and Indian Prairie School District 204 students between 13 and 18 years of age by April 30, 2012. The deadline for entries is Friday, April 13, 2012, at 4 p.m. All completed artwork and entry paperwork should be brought to the Mayor's Office at the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St., between 1 and 4 p.m. April 11-13.

Full contest details are available at www.sister-cities.org/programs/yap.cfm. One finalist and four semi-finalists will receive awards at a ceremony taking place from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 21 in the Lower Level Meeting Rooms at the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St. The finalist will have his or her artwork submitted to Sister Cities International for national, and potentially international, recognition.

Since 1988, the Sister Cities International Young Artists Showcase has encouraged youth throughout the world to consider the Sister Cities International mission and express their interpretation of that mission by promoting peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation through one individual, one community at a time. Hundreds of youth artists have shared their work with sister cities communities throughout the past two decades.

For more information on the Sister Cities Commission, visit www.naperville.il.us/sistercities.aspx. For more information on the City of Naperville, visit www.naperville.il.us. Sign up to receive the latest news on the City of Naperville's projects and initiatives via e-mail at www.naperville.il.us/enews.aspx.