The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) hosted its 12th annual art competition for all students in Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools world-wide. In total, SAAM received 97 student submissions for the contest from 11 schools located in Belgium, Germany, Japan, Turkey, and the United States.
SAAM staff voted on the submissions to select semi-finalists for the Lower Elementary (Grades K-2), Upper Elementary (Grades 3-5), Middle (Grades 6-8), and High School (Grades 9-12) levels. Winners were selected through a student vote at the participating schools.
SAAM is proud to feature the winning artworks on our website. Below are the images and names of the gold, silver, and bronze award winners from each age group. Please visit our Distance Learning Student Gallery on Flickr, linked below, to see images of all entries.
2024 Theme: Fighters for Freedom
Who are the people fighting for freedom in your community? How are they working to make your community a better place?
Grades K-2
Gold: Charlotte, 2nd grade, Freedom Fighter, Ramey Unit School, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Silver: Skye, Kindergarten, Freedom, Wiesbaden Elementary School, Wiesbaden, Germany
Bronze: Maverick, 2nd grade, MLK, Wiesbaden Elementary School, Wiesbaden, Germany
Grades 3-5
Gold: Jael, 5th grade, Women Are Powerful, Ankara Elementary High School, Ankara, Turkey
Silver: Emery, 5th grade, Freedom Fighter (Coast Guard), Ramey Unit School, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Bronze: Isabella, 5th grade, Freedom Fighter (Border Patrol), Ramey Unit School, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
What kinds of freedoms are most important to you? How might your life be different without those freedoms?
Grades 6-8
Gold: Violet, 8th grade, Freedom of Speech, Fort Knox Middle High School, Fort Knox, Kentucky, USA
Silver: Nia, 7th grade, Suffrage, Ankara Elementary High School, Ankara, Turkey
Bronze: Joshwei, 6th grade, Freedom (I Have a Dream), Zama Middle High School, Camp Zama, Kanagawa, Japan
What freedoms are worth fighting for? How might the world be different if the fight for freedom were over?
Grades 9-12
Gold: Scarlett, 9th grade, Without Expression Submission is Assured, Fort Knox Middle High School, Fort Knox, Kentucky, USA
Silver: Rachel, 12th grade, Staying Together, Ankara Elementary High School, Ankara, Turkey
Bronze: Minami, 12th grade, Untitled (Being Yourself), Kubasaki High School, Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan
