Sister Cities International aims to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation – one individual, one community at a time. This year’s theme is Climatescape: Resilient Cities for Tomorrow’s Climate. Climate change has become an undeniably harsh reality in our lives, making the importance of raising awareness and taking action more essential every day. As temperatures rise, water patterns are disrupted, ecosystems are disturbed, cultures are affected, and energy resources are proven to be unsustainable for long term use. These ongoing changes impact our local and global communities in every aspect, and youth are the key to tackle this global reality.

• Students must be between 13 and 18 years of age at the time of the 2024 international deadline. (May 1, 2024 for the
  Roanoke top 5 submissions to Sister Cities International)
• The student must be affiliated with a dues-paying member of Sister Cities International. This is Roanoke Valley Sister Cities.

• Photographs of all artists’ work will be published on Sister Cities International’s website. https://www.sistercities.org/2024-yaas
• One artist will be selected as a Grand Prize Winner, 2nd Place Winner, and 3rd Place Winner in August 2023
• The Grand Prize Artist Winner will receive $1,000, 2nd Place Winner will receive $250, 3rd Place Winner will receive $100
• The winners will be announced at the virtual Youth Leadership Summit tentatively scheduled for August 2024.

In April, Roanoke Valley Sister Cities held its annual Young Artists Showcase for students aged 13-18. Students from Patrick Henry HS, the Burton Center for Arts & Technology, Northcross Upper School and William Fleming HS were among the winners of the showcase:
1st Place ($300): Trinity Monet Powell – “Playtime Smog” – Patrick Henry HS  (click here to see art)
2nd Place tie ($200): Mary Clarke – “Collective Resilience” – Patrick Henry HS (click here to see art)
2nd Place tie ($200): “Sustainable City” – Alex Dascenzo – Burton Center (click here to see art)
3rd Place tie ($100): “Sister City Postcards” – Ryan Poe – Burton Center (click here to see art)
3rd Place tie ($100): “Lupine Takeover” – Lucy Ellett – Northcross Upper School (click here to see art)
Honorable Mentions ($25 ea.):
“How to Grow a City” – Aidyn Alexander – Burton Center
“Clean City Streets” – Elizabeth Hammed – Burton Center
“Resilient City” – Mya DelVecchio – Burton Center
“Floating City” – Sophia Camp – Northcross Upper School
“Grand Prismatic Spring” – Alexander Carper – William Fleming HS

• Students may select one (1) piece of original artwork to submit for this showcase.
• Important note: This year we will not be accepting physical artwork, only photographs of the artwork. To ensure our
  judges have the best quality view of your artwork, please confirm that photographs are no less
  than 1350×1080 pixels.
• Photos of media accepted include oil, acrylic, watercolor, charcoal, colored pencil, crayon, ink, marker, etching, collage will
  be accepted.
• Digital medium artwork will be accepted this year. This is not a
  photographycontest.
  • Only two-dimensional (2D), unframed artwork will be accepted.
  • A teacher must send the photograph(s) of the student artwork along with the application to
  roanokevalleysistercities@gmail.com
  • All photos of artwork for the 2025 contest must be e-mailed by April, 2025.
  • Judges will evaluate submissions based on theme interpretation, originality, and creativity.