Entry Details

2024 Art and Poster Contest Subtheme:
Dig Into a New Day: Our World Is a Garden of Delights

To download the rules packet, click here:

All submissions must first be sent to your local AHMA, which has an earlier deadline. To learn when these deadlines are, please call your local AHMA. To find your local AHMA, click here: AHMA Directory. The deadline for AHMAs to send their winning submissions to NAHMA is June 3, 2024.

2024 Art and Poster Contest for the 2025 NAHMA Calendar

The National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA) is proud to kick off the annual art/calendar contest. We anticipate that more than 5,000 children, seniors, and residents with special needs nationwide will participate in the calendar art contest this year.

We have added a subtheme to reinforce a more positive use of time and encourage a broader range of submissions. The contest’s underlying message will continue to have a drug-free theme, but we also wanted to open the door for more avenues of expression. The subtheme for the contest is Dig Into a New Day: Our World Is a Garden of Delights.

Below are contest rules and tips from various Affordable Housing Management Associations (AHMAs), property management companies, and on-site property managers on how to hold an art contest. If you require additional information on NAHMA’s national finalists’ contest, please contact Brenda Moser at the NAHMA office at 703-683-8630, ext. 114.

CONTEST RULES

Who is eligible to enter the calendar contest?
The poster contest is open to children and senior residents 55 years or older who live in a community of a NAHMA- or a local AHMA-member company, as well as residents with special needs who live in a permanent supportive housing community or Section 811 community of a NAHMA- or a local AHMA-member company.

How does the contest work?
Local AHMAs will select up to three winning posters, photographs, computer art, or other media—such as websites, tile, macramé, needlework, etc., which must be submitted as a photograph—from each category (i.e., seniors, residents with special needs and each children’s grade level). *See detailed descriptions for format and size in another section of the contest rules.

The five grade categories for children are based on the grade level the contestants have completed by June 2024:

  • Kindergarten-first grade
  • Second-third grade
  • Fourth-sixth grade
  • Seventh-ninth grade
  • 10th-12th grade

While we encourage community activities to discuss the theme and contest rules, ENTRIES MUST BE CREATED BY THE INDIVIDUAL WITHOUT ASSISTANCE.

All AHMA winning submissions are forwarded to NAHMA, where a distinguished panel of judges will select the 13 winning entries that will appear inside the pages of the 2025 NAHMA Drug-Free Kids Calendar, including submissions from children, seniors, and residents with special needs. One exceptional entry will be selected as the grand prizewinner, which will appear on the cover. Only children are eligible to become the grand prizewinners.

All art submitted to NAHMA becomes the property of NAHMA, and NAHMA has the right to use the art for publicity, publications, and advertisements.

How are the art submissions judged?
Entries are judged on the artist’s ability to create a submission with the Dig Into a New Day: Our World Is a Garden of Delights contest subtheme. The artwork must be original and cannot be a replica or reproduction of someone else’s creation or trademark. Artwork that is not original will be disqualified.

Specifically, judges consider:

  • Representation of the subtheme Dig Into a New Day: Our World Is a Garden of Delights.
  • Originality of the submission.
  • Quality: Is the art submission appealing to the eye?
  • Overall Artistic Ability: Does the art submission show some degree of creativity and skill for its age group? Will the submission be able to be reproduced with reasonable quality and clarity?

What specifications must the artistic submission meet to enter?

  • Posters must be done on poster board (or heavy art paper) measuring 22 inches x 28 inches.
  • Any media may be used for the posters, including paints, crayons, color pencils, chalk, and collage, but contestants are advised to ensure that the media selected:
    • Results in a flat surface, and
    • Can be adequately protected against damage.
  • The poster must be marked clearly with the official entry form attached.
  • Photography can be in color or black and white and must measure at least 8 inches x 10 inches but not larger than 22 inches x 28 inches.
  • Website design: webpages must be printed in color and measure 8.5 inches x 11 inches, and then mounted to poster board measuring 22 inches x 28 inches.
  • Digital art must be printed and measure at least 8.5 inches x 11 inches but not larger than 22 inches x 28 inches.
  • Other media such as tile, macramé, carving, quilting, needlework, etc., must be submitted as a photograph measuring at least 8 inches x 10 inches but not larger than 22 inches x 28 inches.

    Trademarked cartoon characters, proper names of individuals, product brands, or the name of the development or AHMA are not allowed on any submitted posters or other art forms. Submissions from an AHMA that have any of these items will be disqualified.

The official form (see the end of this document) with the following information must be legible (i.e., printed or typed) and attached to each submission.

Children

  • Artist’s name
  • Age/Date of Birth
  • Grade completed in June of 2023
  • Grade level indicated (i.e., K-1, 2-3, 4-6, 7-9 or 10-12)
  • Name of school
  • Name of development where the child lives
  • Child’s address and phone number
  • Name of the child’s parent or guardian
  • Name of resident manager/phone number/email address
  • Name of the management company for development
  • Name of AHMA

Seniors & Residents With Special Needs

  • Artist’s name
  • Full mailing address and phone number
  • Name of resident manager/phone number/email address
  • Name of the management company for development
  • Name of AHMA

Each entry MUST be marked and contain the above information. 
Incomplete submissions will be returned to the AHMA.

When is the deadline?
The deadline for AHMA entries to the national contest must be received by NAHMA no later than June 3, 2024. Entries must first be sent to your local AHMA, which has an earlier deadline. To learn when these deadlines are, please call your local AHMA.

Honorable Mentions
Children, seniors, and residents with special needs in our communities from across the nation who participate in the annual art contests held by regional and state AHMAs are eligible to be selected as regional AHMA art contest Honorable Mentions. They will have their artwork featured nationally in a special section of the NAHMA Drug-Free Kids Calendar. These participants are in addition to those that will be selected as national winners.

What are the contest prizes?
The winners of each local AHMA’s contest receive various prizes from the AHMA.

All winners of the national contest receive educational scholarships in the form of a NAHMA Educational Foundation check. All national winners will appear in the NAHMA Drug-Free Kids Calendar with a short artist bio and photo.

The national contest’s grand prizewinner, whose art will appear on the cover of the calendar, receives an educational scholarship and a trip to Washington, D.C., where he or she will be honored at the NAHMA Fall Meeting in October 2024.

NAHMA Prizes

  • Grand Prizewinner: $2,500 check and a trip to Washington, D.C.
  • National Winners: $1,000 check
  • Honorable Mentions: $100 check

There is a contest-specific entry form for Seniors & Residents with Special Needs and a separate entry form for Children. Please encourage residents to fill out the correct form that applies to them.

Official Rules 2024 Contest and Forms (English)

2024 Art Contest Official Entry Forms Only (English)

Official Rules 2024 Contest and Forms (Spanish)

2024 Art Contest Official Entry Forms Only (Spanish)