2025 Art as Activism Poster Contest
Dear Leading Ladies,
We are excited to announce our fourth annual Art as Activism contest for high school students. We believe that art is an effective form of activism, as well as an especially powerful way for students to find and express their voices.
Following on the heels of last year’s success, this year’s contest will again challenge young people to create posters on an important social justice issue: book bans and censorship.
We know this topic is timely and important because of the frightening facts recently published by PEN. (PEN stands for "Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, Novelists," a renowned organization that promotes freedom of expression and intellectual exchange).
During the 2023–2024 school year, PEN America recorded 10,046 instances of book bans, including more than 4,000 unique titles.
Florida and Iowa banned the most books during the 2023-2024 school year with more than 4,500 in Florida and 3,600 in Iowa.
In addition to Florida and Iowa, several states recorded 100 book bans or more — 538 in Texas, 408 in Wisconsin, 121 in Virginia, and 100 instances of book bans in Kentucky.
Banned books overwhelmingly include books with people and characters of color (44%) and books with LGBTQ+ people and characters (39%)
Nearly 60% of these banned titles are written for young adult audiences, and depict topics young people confront in the real world, including grief and death, experiences with substance abuse, suicide, depression and mental health concerns, and sexual violence.
And here are the top 20 most commonly banned books:
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
Looking for Alaska by John Green
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Sold by Patricia McCormick
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Crank by Ellen Hopkins
Identical by Ellen Hopkins
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
There’s a lot more information from PEN here and from Unite Against Book Bans, too.
We are reaching out to teachers and administrators at private, parochial, and public high schools in northeastern Massachusetts to inform them about our contest. We know that personal connections always make the difference, so please share this information with educators and students you know. Teens need not apply through their schools; they can enter on their own.
Professional artists, art educators and graphic designers will judge the entries. Deadline for entries is March 1, 2025. Below are more details.
All entries must be designed around the theme of opposing book bans and censorship.
All entries must include one fact about book banning integrated into the artwork.
All entries must include original artwork, and may not include licensed cover art unless it’s in the public domain (75 years or older).
Entries will be posted electronically as well as printed
The top three poster submissions will receive cash prizes, distributed at a Community Conversation at the Cabot in Beverly on March 26, 2025.
A group of the top entries and honorable mentions will be displayed in the spring and summer at various public venues.
Submissions are due by March 1, 2025 and can be submitted here via google form.
Winners will be announced on March 20, 2025.
Additional participation details can be found here on the Leading Ladies website, and downloadable guidelines to share with students can be found here. Don’t hesitate to respond with any questions.
Help us spread the word! And mark your calendar for Wednesday, March 26, 2025, when we will co-host a panel discussion at the Cabot Theater in Beverly among professionals about book bans and censorship. Now, more than ever, the fight for freedom of what we and our children can read is crucial. Thank you for helping us in this effort.
Therese (she/her/hers)
Judy (she/her/hers)
Didi (she/her/hers)
Leading Ladies Executive Team