The City of Santa Clarita, in partnership with Santa Clarita Sister Cities, invites local students to submit original artwork, poetry, essays/creative writing, photographs or music for the 2025 Young Artists and Authors Showcase.
The theme of the contest this year is “FRIENDSHIP: The Heartbeat of Global Peace.” Students are encouraged to highlight the power of friendship to foster understanding, collaboration and peace across borders. The top entries from Santa Clarita will be submitted to Sister Cities International in Washington, D.C. to compete with submissions from other Sister Cities organizations around the world for the grand prize of $1,000 in each category.
To qualify, students must be between 12 and 18-years-old as of April 1, 2025. Applicants aged 12-14 will compete in one showcase, while those aged 15-18 will compete in another. Interested teens may submit one entry per category, along with a completed entry form, by visiting SantaClaritaSisterCities.org. Guidelines and criteria for each category are also outlined on the website. Online submissions are due to Santa Clarita Sister Cities by Friday, March 14, 2025.
Santa Clarita Sister Cities is a local organization with a mission to foster international partnerships between the City of Santa Clarita and cities abroad, and to promote mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation through reciprocal youth, cultural, educational, professional, humanitarian and economic programs and exchanges. It is a member of Sisters Cities International, a nonprofit organization created by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956, to advance partnerships among communities around the globe and promote peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation – one individual, one community at a time. The City of Santa Clarita has two international Sister Cities — Tena, Ecuador and Sariaya, Philippines.
For more information on Santa Clarita Sister Cities and the Young Artists and Authors Showcase and to submit an entry, visit SantaClaritaSisterCities.org. For questions about the showcase, please contact Tyler Pledger at (661) 286-4176 or email SisterCities@santaclarita.gov.
