STUDENT ARTWORK ON VIRTUAL DISPLAY
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction is proud to celebrate the work of our young visual and media art students. Up to 50 Images of student artwork will be selected by a panel each year to be displayed on the Arts & Creativity page of the DPI Website. Read more below to learn about eligibility and how to apply.
ELIGIBILITY
- Entries are open to all K-12 aged students in Wisconsin.
- Each Wisconsin art educator can submit up to 5 works of art from their school’s current work.
- No group pieces please. All artwork must be created by one individual student within the current school year. Only one artwork per student may be submitted.
- Artwork MUST be from the artist’s own imagery, concept, and planning. Images that are CELEBRITY, from DIRECT INTERNET SEARCHES, CREATED BY AI or other imagery that is NOT THE ARTIST'S OWN REFERENCE cannot be entered as it is or may borderline plagiarism.
- Only digital images can be submitted - no originals are to be sent to DPI. The images should be cropped and ready for digital display. The digital images can be of any 2-D or 3-D art (Digital drawing/painting, photography or photos of your student’s paintings or sculptures).
- No personal identifiable information should be seen on the image. (For example, the student's name cannot appear in the image)
- The submission form below will require a Media Permission Slip to be completed by the artist’s caregivers and uploaded as a PDF at the same time as the digital artwork file. Artwork submitted without this permission slip will not be considered. Students and caregivers will not receive compensation and allow DPI to use images of the artwork online and in the media in perpetuity.
- To be considered for this year, artwork and accompanying information must be submitted no later than CURRENT APPLICATION IS CLOSED FOR 2025. LOOK FOR 2026 APPLICATION TO OPEN IN JANUARY 2026
FORMAT
Images should be submitted as high quality JPEG or PNG files. Scanning the artwork is also acceptable. Here are some suggestions on how to capture a good photo of the art:
- Phone cameras are acceptable as are DSLR cameras.
- Remove artwork from behind glass.
- Be sure the camera or phone is pointed parallel to the painting/artwork.
- Capture an inch outside the canvas/painting. By doing this it gives you a little room to crop your image just in case there was an error.
- Turn off the in-camera flash. When you do this it will avoid any extra glare coming from your camera.
- Take lots of extra shots of each piece and remember to refocus the lens! This will ensure that you have backup pictures to use just in case your main shots don’t work out.
- You don't need the best lights for photographing your artwork. Sunlight is the best light source you can use since it contains the full color spectrum.
- 3-D works should be photographed in front of a neutral background
- Please do not add titles or other information onto the submitted images such as watermarks.
- Name digital images in this manner: School__Student’s First Name__Title of Artwork
SELECTION
A panel of art educators and professors will select images to be included in our online DPI Art Showcase. Selection will be based on composition, skill/technique, student voice, and craftsmanship as found on this rubric.
SUBMISSION INFORMATION
- Each art educator can submit up to 5 works using THIS FORM. (Closed now - will go live in January 2026)
- The deadline to submit images for the 25-26 school year is April 15, 2026
- Art Educators will be notified of selected art by May 15, 2026
- Selected artwork will be on display online beginning on or June 15, 2026
- Displayed artwork will contain the student’s first name, last initial, grade, title of the work, name of school, school district and art teacher. No other identifying information will be included.
QUESTIONS?
Contact Chris Gleason via email at christopher.gleason@dpi.wi.gov