Arts and Entertainment

Upcycled Art Contest continues to be popular at Shenango's annual Earth Fest

Upcycled Art Contest submissions at the 2018 annual Penn State Shenango Earth Fest event. Credit: Liz Izenas / Penn State. Creative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Shenango is gearing up for its annual Upcycled Art Contest, which is held in conjunction with the campus’ Earth Day celebration on Saturday, April 6. The contest is designed to inspire elementary and middle school students to create treasure from “trash.”

“The contest continues to grow annually, with over 100 local children participating last year,” said Jennifer Jewell, instructor in PTA and chair of the Faculty Outreach Committee at Penn State Shenango. “The creativity that the children demonstrate with their submissions is very impressive.”

The art contest contains two categories: the first is a “Small Group Project” for grades kindergarten through sixth. Teachers, Girl Scout Leaders, or others who want to put together a small group to participate, will need to have their students, as a group, create a two-dimensional (not to exceed 16” x 16”) or three-dimensional (not to exceed 16” x 16” x 16”) piece of artwork using only material that has been previously used and/or was potentially destined for recycling or the land fill.

The second category of the Upcycled Art Contest is titled “Reflection on Reuse.” This contest, which is also for children in kindergarten through sixth grade, requires students to work individually to create a two-dimensional (not to exceed 16” x 16”) or three-dimensional (not to exceed 16” x 16” x 16”) piece of artwork using only material that has been previously used and/or was potentially destined for recycling or the land fill.

All artwork entered into the contest will be displayed at the Penn State Shenango Earth Fest on April 6 with the opportunity for community members to vote on the “People’s Choice” winner. A formal awards presentation of the grade-level winners will also take place during Earth Fest.

All submissions must include a completed entry form and be dropped off with the student’s art project between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., March 18-22, in Lecture Hall room 225 located at 147 Shenango Ave., Sharon, Pennsylvania. Local school pickup can be arranged upon request. All artwork must be picked back up at the campus between 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 6.

For details and an entry form, go to https://www.facebook.com/pennstateshenangoearthfest/ or contact Jen Jewell at jlt17@psu.edu or 724-983-2886.

Last Updated March 6, 2019