Creative Futures 2026

Description

CREATIVE FUTURES 2026

High School Art and Design Competition

The School of Art and Design at Southern Illinois University Carbondale is pleased to announce Creative Futures 2026, our third statewide high school art and design competition. Illinois high school art and design teachers are invited to submit works by no more than five (5) current junior or senior students from their schools for consideration. Accepted entries will be featured in an online exhibition from January 9th, 2026 to January 10th, 2027.

A total of $13,500 in scholarships will be awarded across the following categories:

2-D Art: including media such as, but not limited to: drawing, painting, photography, and printmaking

3-D Art: including media such as, but not limited to: ceramics, glass, metals, and sculpture

Design/Digital Art: including media such as, but not limited to: web/graphic design, industrial design, animation, and video

Jurors

Faculty from the School of Art and Design at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

File Media

Still images- JPGs or PNGs, no more than 3600 pixels wide or high.

Video/animation- MP4s, MOVs, or AVIs, direct uploads up to 25MB.

Eligibility

Junior or senior Illinois high school students, entered by their art or design instructors. Instructors must register using their school-affiliated email addresses. Artcall.org accounts created with private email accounts such as Gmail or Hotmail will not be eligible. Student information such as email/mailing addresses of accepted artists/designers may be requested.

Entry Fee

None. All costs associated with the competition and online exhibition will be covered by the School of Art and Design at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Exhibition Calendar

October 24, 2025- Call for entry opens.

December 21, 2025- Entry deadline at 11:59pm (CST).

January 7, 2026- Jury results sent to teachers.

January 9, 2026- Online exhibit goes live.

January 16, 2026- Award winners announced.

January 15, 2027- Exhibition closes.

Image Rights

The School of Art and Design at Southern Illinois University Carbondale reserves the right to utilize images of accepted works for the online exhibition as well as promotion of future competitions or other promotional purposes.

Questions/User Entry Process Tutorial

Any questions about the competition can be directed to creativefutures@siu.edu.Below is a quick tutorial of the submission process.

View Past Competition Galleries