The Delta Cultural Center in Helena, Arkansas, invites your students to participate in our annual Blues Heritage Youth Art Competition. This event is generously sponsored by the Pillow Clinic of Helena and provides a wonderful opportunity for your students to express their creativity and celebrate their musical heritage.

Last year we received entries from throughout the state, and we are excited to see more artistic talent cultivated in the Delta. Your students are encouraged to create colorful artwork that expresses the culture of the blues in the Delta.

Submissions will be displayed in a special exhibit that will open in October of every year during the King Biscuit Blues Festival. Winners and their teachers will receive cash prizes, and first place winners in each category will have their work made into full-color posters and postcards to be distributed statewide. We will also send press releases to regional newspapers announcing the winners' achievements.

We are accepting entries until June 15, 2026, and will present the awards on October 6, 2026, at a special reception to officially open the youth art competition exhibit

Cash prizes include:

Grades K-5

• 1st Place: $60 -Teacher $50
• Merit Award: $20 -Teacher $20
• Merit Award: $20 -Teacher $20

Grades 6-9

• 1st Place: $100 -Teacher $50
• Merit Award: $20 -Teacher $20
• Merit Award: $20 -Teacher $20

Grades 10-12

• 1st Place: $250 - Teacher $50
• Merit Award: $20 -Teacher $20
• Merit Award: $20 -Teacher $20

2026 Blues Heritage Youth Art Competition Contest Rules: THEME: Voices of the Delta

1. Pictures must relate to the culture of blues in the Delta.
2. Entries should be standard poster-size (22 x 14 or 22 x 28). Please no wood slats or 3-D entries.
3. Entries should be in color. (The more color the better!)
4. Entries can be of any medium. Work done in pastel, chalk, or charcoal needs to be sprayed with a fixative so it does not get smeared in the framing process. No Glitter!
5. Original artwork can be picked up at 141 Cherry Street in Helena following the completion of the Blues Heritage Youth Art Competition exhibit. Deadline for picking artwork up is February 28, 2027.
6. Include a typed label on the back of each entry as some handwritten names may be hard to read! Entry Labels must include the following:
   • Student's Name
   • Age
   • Grade
   • School
   • Teacher's Name and Contact Information
7. Mail entries to: Delta Cultural Center, 141 Cherry St., Helena, AR 72342.
8. Failure to meet these criteria will disqualify your work.

Thank you for your interest. Please contact us with any questions or concerns. We are also available for school visits. Phone at (870) 338-4350, or you may email [email protected]. We look forward to receiving your students' work in the months to come!