The City of Thousand Oaks Youth Commission (YC) invites young artists in grades 7-12 to submit an original work of art inspired by the idea of the Summit’s theme: “Be a Leader”.

Submissions will be judged by a panel of judges. There will be one winner for each of the five categories (3D, 2D, Digital Art, Photography, Mixed Media). All artwork will be judged using the following rubric:

• Artistic merit (30 points): Based on artistic skill, including quality of the material and product.
• Creativity (30 points): Representation of the contest theme, “Be a Leader”.
• Theme communication in Artist Statement (40): Expression of the contest theme, “Be a Leader” in the written statement.

General Rules:

• Submissions must address the official contest prompt in two parts, the art piece and the artist’s statement.
• Submissions must fall in one of the categories: (3D, 2D, Digital Art, Photography, Mixed Media).
• Contestants must submit original works of art with limited guidance from others. The use of AI is not permitted.
• There is no entry fee for this contest.
• Contestants may submit only one entry.
• The contest deadline is 11:59 pm on Sunday, March 16, 2025. Late Applications will not be accepted.
• A confirmation e-mail verifying receipt will be sent during business hours to all Artists who submit an entry. If Artist does not receive a confirmation email, Artist should assume the City did not receive it and either resubmit their email or call (805) 499-2118. Artist takes full responsibility to ensure the City receives the entry before the deadline.
• Any quotations or copyrighted material used in the submissions must be identified properly. Failure to identify non-original material may result in disqualification.
•  The City of Thousand Oaks will have the right to alter or duplicate any submission entered into the contest without payment to the artist.
•  Due to the number of entries received, only winners will be contacted with the results.
• Winners will be invited to drop off their artwork for display at the 2025 Youth Leadership Summit. Artist must arrange and drop off artwork at City Hall during the week of April 1-4, 2025. Artwork must be dropped off in a state that is ready for display. Artist must arrange and pick up artwork during the week of April 14-18, 2025. If no arrangements are made for pick up, artwork will be disposed of.