ArtsVote 2026 Open Call: Official Rules

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ArtsVote 2026 Open Call: Official Rules

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN THIS CONTEST. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT WILL NOT IMPROVE AN ENTRANT'S CHANCES OF WINNING. THIS IS A SKILL-BASED CONTEST; WINNING SUBMISSIONS ARE SELECTED BY QUALIFIED JUDGES ON THE BASIS OF SKILL AND NOT BY CHANCE, AND THERE ARE NO "ODDS" OF WINNING.

Sponsor. The Contest is sponsored, administered, and conducted by TaskForce, in partnership with Americans for the Arts Inc (AFTA), the Arts Action Fund (AAF), and AIGA whose principal place of business and address for purposes of these Official Rules is 1275 K Street NW 120 Washington, DC 20005 (the "Sponsor"). Entrants may contact the Sponsor regarding the Contest at info@taskforce.us.

No Cost to Enter or Win. There is no entry fee, and no purchase or payment of any kind is required to enter the Contest or to win a prize. The maximum total cost that a winner will have paid to the Sponsor to participate in the Contest is $0.00. No winner is required to purchase anything, pay anything of value, or make a donation to the Sponsor or to any other person or third party as a condition of entering the Contest, winning, or receiving any prize.

Publication

Without further consideration, winners and those submitting artwork hereby consent to the inclusion of their name, likeness, biography, and submission on the website, in campaign materials, and/or in one or more books, articles, or digital galleries that may be published and/or documentaries that may be produced about this contest and its art, as well as in advertising and publicity relating thereto.

Official Rules

The ArtsVote Open Call ("Contest") commences at 12:01 p.m. (noon) EDT on August 28, 2026 and ends at 11:59 p.m. EDT on September 30, 2026 (the "Contest Period"). Submissions may be made to the Contest from 12:01 p.m. (noon) EDT on August 28, 2026 and end at 11:59 p.m. EDT on September 22, 2026 (The "Submission Period"). 

Eligibility

Contest is open only to natural persons older than 18 years of age as of the date of entry, who reside within the United States. Employees, independent contractors, officers, and directors of Sponsor, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies, and legal advisors, and the immediate family members and persons living in the same household of such persons, are not eligible to participate in the Contest. Contest is offered only in the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and U.S. military bases abroad. All issues and questions concerning these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of participant and Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California. Void where prohibited by law. Corporations are not eligible to enter.

Creative Commons & Licensing

Submissions will utilize Creative Commons licensing. This allows the campaign permission for non-commercial use (including digital and physical distribution) while you, the artist, retain full ownership of your work. By submitting, you agree to grant Americans for the Arts and the Arts Action Fund permission to display, distribute, and produce this artwork for non-commercial campaign purposes.

How to Enter

Create a piece of artwork, either 2- or 3-dimensional, that remixes, redesigns, or visually interprets the official ArtsVote logo using your unique aesthetic style. Your submission should explore the themes of the campaign, including: the economic and community impact of the arts, civic duty, and the core message that "Creativity is not optional." ("Submission").

Any time during the Submission Period, access the Sponsor's portal at artsvote.org (via Submittable) and complete the Contest Entry Form, which will request your full name, phone number, email address, portfolio/social handle, and postal address. You will also have the option to include a brief (1-2 sentence) artist statement. Then, upload images of your Submission as directed.

Technical Requirements:

- Format & Sizing: Files must be set to a final trim size of 48" (width) x 72" (height) or scaled proportionately (e.g., 24" x 36" at 300 DPI).

- File Types: Vector-based files (.AI, .EPS, or print-ready .PDF) are strongly preferred. If submitting raster artwork (.PSD, .TIFF, .JPG), it must be a minimum of 150 DPI at full scale.

- Color Mode: CMYK color mode for print.

- Typography: All text/fonts MUST be outlined.

- Bleed: Include a minimum 0.25" bleed on all sides. Keep critical text/logos 2 inches away from the trim edge.

- Web Preview: Please also include a low-res .PNG or .JPG (RGB) for web preview.

Submissions must be original works of authorship. Use of AI is not permitted. By entering, Entrant warrants that his or her Submission is original and that he or she does not infringe any third party's rights, and that Entrant has obtained any necessary permission from all relevant third parties to submit the Submission. Please, no personal attacks on particular individuals. Submissions must be appropriate for a broad audience. Submissions should not depict harmful or illegal activity or substances, or offensive subject matter, as determined by the sole and exclusive discretion of Sponsor.

Entrants may not be, nor may Entrant use in the Submission parties who:

- Are represented under contract (e.g., by a talent agent or manager) that would limit or impair Sponsor's ability to show the Submission in any media form, including those listed here;

- Have an acting or modeling contract that would make their appearance in the Submission a violation of any third party rights;

- Are under any other contractual relationship that would prohibit Sponsor from using the Submission as outlined in these rules.

Sponsor reserves the right to exclude any Submission that doesn't meet the above criteria, at Sponsor's sole discretion.

Judging Criteria

All otherwise eligible Submissions submitted during the Submission Period will be judged according to the criteria listed as follows:

On or about September 23, 2026, pursuant to an initial internal screening by TaskForce for compliance with the creative brief and legal parameters, up to 30 finalist submissions will be selected. Between September 22 and September 25, 2026, a panel of qualified, high-visibility judges (including representatives from AFTA, AIGA, and the broader arts/civic community) will score each of the qualified finalist Submissions via Submittable. Submissions will be rated on a 1–10 scale based on aesthetic quality, message clarity, and adherence to the ArtsVote "North Star".

Judges; Method of Judging; Rounds. The Contest is conducted in two stages: (1) an initial internal eligibility and compliance screening conducted by the Sponsor, which is not scored; and (2) a single scored judging round in which the finalist Submissions are evaluated. These stages are not rounds of increasing difficulty. The finalist Submissions are judged by a panel of qualified judges who are experienced arts, design, and civic professionals, including representatives of Americans for the Arts (AFTA), AIGA, and the broader arts and civic community [Bob Faust, Brian Collins, Debbie Millman, Dr. Crystal Moten, Eric Gottesman, Frances Yllana, Rachel Elnar, Sarah Lewis, Stefan Sagmeister, Erin Harkey]. The method of judging is as follows: each judge independently scores each finalist Submission on a 1–10 scale based on the criteria of aesthetic quality, message clarity, and adherence to the ArtsVote "North Star," and the Submissions receiving the highest aggregate scores are selected as the Winning Submissions. Winners are determined solely on the basis of skill as measured by these criteria, and not by chance; accordingly, there are no odds of winning.

The 5 to 10 Submissions receiving the highest overall scores shall be deemed the Winning Submissions. In the event of a tie, the tying entries will be rescored by the same judging panel on the basis of skill until a winner is selected. Winners will be announced on or around September 29–30, 2026.

All grading decisions are in the absolute discretion of the judges and are final. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify and remove from competition any entry that is, in the discretion of the judging panel, inappropriate, offensive, defamatory, or demeaning to Sponsor's reputation or goodwill. All Selected Contestants may be required to complete an affidavit or declaration of eligibility/liability release and, except where prohibited, a publicity release and such other documents as may be required by Sponsor to protect its right to use the winning submissions as specified in these rules. Failure to comply or return of any documentation may result in forfeiture of winning status and prize, in Sponsor's discretion, and Sponsor may select the next highest scoring entrant, at its discretion.

Prize

Top-tier winning designs will be incorporated into the official ArtsVote Marketing Toolkit and operationalized for physical out-of-home (OOH) deployment, including high-impact wheatpaste campaigns in priority geographic markets (such as Atlanta, North Carolina, Ohio, Chicago, and Washington D.C.) leading up to the 2026 election. Winners will also receive high-visibility digital promotion across partner networks.

Additional material prizing packages for Tier 1 and Tier 2 winners (which may include software subscriptions, hardware, or merchandise) will be finalized and announced prior to the close of the Submission Period. As a baseline incentive, all eligible participants who submit artwork to the Open Call will receive a commemorative item or discount code for the ArtsVote merchandise storefront.

Number of Prizes and Approximate Retail Value.

The number and approximate retail value ("ARV") of the prizes are as follows: five (5) Winning Submissions will be selected. The Grand Prize winner will receive $2,500, a $200 gift card courtesy of Blick Art Materials, one (1) AFTA membership (ARV $150), and one (1) AIGA membership (ARV $250), for a total Grand Prize ARV of $3,100. Each of the four (4) Runners-Up will receive $1,000, a $75 gift card courtesy of Blick Art Materials, one (1) AFTA membership (ARV $150), and one (1) AIGA membership (ARV $250), for a total ARV of $1,475 per Runner-Up. The first 500 individuals to apply shall receive a complimentary ArtsVote tote, which has an approximate retail value of $40 (total ARV $20,000). The total approximate retail value of all prizes to be awarded is $29,000. Where more than one of a prize is offered, the number of that prize to be awarded is as stated above.Prize Conditions and Restrictions. Receipt of any prize is conditioned on the winner's compliance with these Official Rules, including, without limitation, the winner's completion and return of any required affidavit or declaration of eligibility, liability release, and, except where prohibited, publicity release. Prizes are non-transferable and may not be substituted by the winner. The Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to substitute any prize (or component of a prize) with a prize of equal or greater value if the advertised prize becomes unavailable. Any restriction on a winner's receipt or use of a prize is as described in these Official Rules.


General Terms and Conditions

By participating, entrants agree that Sponsor, its shareholders, agents and representatives, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies, and legal advisors are not responsible or liable for, and shall be released and held harmless from: (i) telephone, electronic, hardware or software program, network, Internet, or computer malfunctions, failures, or difficulties of any kind; (ii) any condition caused by events beyond the control of Sponsor that may cause the Contest to be disrupted or corrupted; (iii) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Contest; (iv) any and all losses, damages, rights, claims and actions of any kind in connection with or resulting from participation in the Contest, or acceptance of the prize, including without limitation, claims based on publicity rights, defamation, or invasion of privacy.

Sponsor is not responsible or liable for Entries that are not successfully submitted by the end of the submission period. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend or cancel Contest at any time if a computer virus, bug, or other technical problem corrupts the administration, security, or proper conduct of the Contest. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of participant and Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules or provisions (whether of the State of California or any other jurisdiction), that would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the State of California.

Privacy Policy

By interacting with the website and submitting to this contest, you agree to the terms and conditions of the campaign's Privacy Policy. Information collected (such as name, email, and social handles) is used to administer the contest, contact winners, and provide campaign updates. This website undertakes measures it deems appropriate to protect data; however, as consideration for interacting with the site, you waive all claims concerning the loss or misuse of such information. By providing your email address, you agree to receive communication from ArtsVote (AFTA/AAF) and TaskForce regarding the campaign; all communications will include an 'unsubscribe' option.