Categories and Prizes

New Artist (Prek-4th grade): $250
Young Artist (5th-8th) $250
Emerging Artist (9th-12th grade): $250
Adult: $250
Audience Choice: $50

How to Enter

The contest opens Monday March 9, 2026. Entries must be submitted by April 7, 2026 . Entry fee is $15, multiple entires accepted.

Content Requirements

Accepted mediums for the two-dimensional artwork are as follows:
- Paintings: oil, acrylics, watercolor, etc.
- Drawings: colored pencil, pencil, ink, marker, pastels, charcoal.
- Collages
- Mixed Media: use of more than two mediums.
- Sculptures
- Photography
Each entry must be original in concept, design, and execution and may not violate U.S. copyright laws. Any entry that has been copied from an existing photo or image (including a painting, graphic, or advertisement) that was created by someone other than the student is a violation of the competition rules and will not be accepted.
Original digital artwork is allowed, but must be the sole and full creation of the participant. Artwork created with AI or digital image generation will not be accepted.
Artwork should be submitted as a high resolution image of the student’s original artwork.
Each file must be under 5 Megabytes in size. More than one photo of art is acceptable.
Artwork must be submitted in .jpg, .pdf or .png format.
Submissions must not contain obscenity, nudity, profanity, graphic violence, calls or incitement to violence, commercial solicitation or commercial promotion. Submissions must conform to local law and must not contain content or images that could be considered abusive, inflammatory, denigrating, or disrespectful to any groups, individuals or institutions. Submissions must adhere both in appearance and in fact to the norms of civil discourse. In other words, the content of all submissions must be suitable for a public audience.
LTEF reserves the right to disqualify, at their sole and absolute discretion, any submission that does not adhere to these criteria and to the intent and substance of these Official Contest Rules.
Email submissions to director@ltefnj.org

Eligibility

Contest is open to all ages but you must be tied to Lawrence in ONE of the following ways: living in, working in, attending school/college, having attended school/college or currently receiving talent training in town.

Art Gallery Display

This year all entered art will be eligible to be displayed in an art gallery inside the auxiliary gym of the High School for the night of the talent show. The gallery will be open for public viewing prior to the start of the talent show and again during intermission. Pieces must be dropped off prior to 5pm on April 17, 2026 to be included in the gallery.

Judges and Selection of Winners

The contest jury will consist of 2 LTPS art supervisors and one LTPS board member. Finalists will be notified prior to the event and must be in attendance. All photos are subject to pre-screening by the LTEF to ensure compliance with these Official Contest Rules. Any submission out of compliance will not be accepted. The winners will be announced during intermission of the Talent Show.

Judging Criteria

Judges will award points for creativity and originality
Finalists will be contacted and instructed to submit their original pieces to be displayed at Lawrence Has Talent on April 17th, 2026.
The Audience Choice award will be voted on during intermission of the Lawrence Has Talent event on April 17, 2026.

Winners

Each winner and/or finalist will be required to sign and return to Contest Sponsors a statement of eligibility and liability/publicity release, and provide a brief statement about the submission; otherwise the winner and/or finalist will be ineligible for any prize. Winner(s) will be contacted via e-mail at the e-mail address they provided for registration. The inability of Contest Sponsors to contact a potential winner may result in disqualification and/or selection of an alternate winner from among all remaining eligible submissions. Winning submissions may be displayed on the LTEF website and social media and during the Lawrence Has Talent event.

Liability and Rights

LTEF does not endorse any submissions or messages expressed therein, and expressly disclaim any and all liability in connection with the submitted photos, including disputes between collaborators related to a submission.
Contestants retain sole ownership of their original work. The submission remains the intellectual property of the contestant, and the LTEF make no claim of copyright as to the work of any individual who enters the contest. Contestant specifically agrees to give the Contest Sponsors permission to use all content submitted for purposes of judging the contest.

Lawrence Has Talent 2026 Art Contest