For over 60 years, the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts has highlighted the remarkable talent, creativity, and perspective of Arkansas students through the Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition (YAA). This legacy program showcases artwork from kindergarten through high school in a wide range of media and technique. The 63rd Young Arkansas Artists Exhibition will continue the legacy of supporting and recognizing the power of art education and dedication of art educators across the state.  

Please read the entire exhibition description as some details have changed.  

This year we are using Call for Entry (CAFÉ) to process YAA exhibition submissions. Educators will need to set up a free CAFÉ Account. For assistance setting up an account. Additional details on uploading artwork images will be found in the application.  

Please see the Eligibility Criteria Section below for full details on who can submit and what artworks are eligible.  

5 works per grade, totaling 65 works will be selected for the exhibition by a panel of Museum educators and faculty. Due to new gallery requirements, only artworks awarded Best in Class, Honorable Mention, and the Best in Show Watercolor Award will be requested for the onsite exhibition. However, all 65 selected works will be highlighted via the online YAA gallery on the AMFA website. 

Notifications of all selected artworks and works that need to be prepared and delivered for the onsite exhibition will be sent by March 8, 2024. Notifications will include directions for matting, labeling, and delivering artworks.  Requested artworks will need to be on-site by April 5, 2024.  

Awards 

A grand juror will select the following awards: 

• 1 Best in Class for each grade
• 2 Honorable Mentions for each grade
• 1 Mid-Southern Watercolorists Best in Show Watercolor Award overall.

Each winning artist’s school or program receives a monetary award to support its art program.

• 13 Best in Class winners will receive $350 for their school or program.
• 26 Honorable Mention winners will receive $200 for their school or program.
• 1 Mid-Southern Watercolorists Best in Show Watercolor Award winner will receive $250 for their school or program.
• Any additional awards will be listed on the AMFA website.

Please plan to join us in celebrating our young artists at the Young Arkansas Artists Award Ceremony and Exhibition Reception on Saturday May 18, 2024. More details will be provided closer to the event. 

Traveling Exhibition at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. 

Submission of eligible work with a valid loan agreement and permission form constitutes an agreement for artwork to travel for installation at Arkansas Children's Hospital. All 2D artworks that measure 18 inches by 26 inches or less (without a mat) and weigh less than 50 lbs. will be considered for the traveling exhibition. Artwork chosen for the traveling exhibition will enter into a loan agreement with the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts for up to two years.  

Application Requirements

Please proceed through the call application to enter your educator/school information, student information, and upload images.

Eligibility Criteria

The exhibition is open to all Kindergarten through 12th grade students residing in Arkansas. Art must be original and completed within the current 2023-2024 school year. Original visual art works in all media, including drawing, painting, print, photograph, collage, sculpture and craft are eligible.  

• Two-dimensional artworks must be no larger than 18 inches by 26 inches.
• Three-dimensional artworks may be submitted, and are eligible for awards, but will only be showcased in the online gallery. Consequently, there is no size limit on three-dimensional artworks.

Artwork may only be submitted by the student’s public, private, or home-school educator or instructor of an extracurricular art program. Each school or instructional institution may only submit ONE entry per grade level per art instructor at the school or institution.  

Collaborative projects may be submitted as a single entry. Educators who work with multiple grade levels may submit one collaborative piece to represent the highest grade-level of the students involved. A collaborative project is defined as an artwork made by a group of students who work together toward a single, completed final product. A group of individual works brought together using a display aid does not qualify.