Sister Cities Commission accepts entries for Young Artists Showcase

Deadline for Entries is Friday, April 13; Awards Ceremony is Saturday, April 21

The Sister Cities Commission continues to accept entries in the 2012 Young Artists Showcase competition. Entries are due by Friday, April 13, with an awards ceremony planned for 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 21 in the Lower Level Meeting Rooms at the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St.

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 competition has given Naperville students the opportunity to display their artistic talents in creative and purposeful ways,” said Rich Mikolajczyk, former Co-Chair of the Sister Cities Commission. “The thematic approach allows students to match artistic expression with focused interpretation. The end result has yielded welcome surprises in both content and depth of meaning.”

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.

For more information, visit www.naperville.il.us/sccyashowcase.aspx. One finalist and four semi-finalists will receive awards at the April 21 awards ceremony, with the finalist having his or her artwork submitted to Sister Cities International for national, and potentially international, recognition. In past years, more than 100 Naperville residents have attended the awards ceremony

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.