The Albany Museum of Art announces their second annual A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words writing competition.

The competition is open to students from the following college institutions: Darton State College, Albany State University, Albany Technical College, Georgia Southwestern University, Valdosta State University, Andrew College and Thomas University. It is also open to high school students in the following counties: Baker, Calhoun, Colquitt, Crisp, Decatur, Dougherty, Early, Grady, Lee, Miller, Mitchell, Seminole, Sumter, Terrell, Thomas and Worth. 

Beginning Friday, September 23, students will select a work of art from the A Picture is Worth a 1,000 Words art object list. All of the listed objects will be on display at the AMA through the duration of the contest for closer inspection. Students will then write an essay no longer than 1,000 words relating back to the piece the author selected. All contest guidelines can be found at www.albanymuseum.com/1000-words.html.

“The purpose of this contest is to get students to engage with the artwork in a unique way because writing isn’t limited to just one area of study,” said Chloe Hinton, Director of Education and Program Planning at the AMA. “We love having students in our galleries and thinking critically about what they are seeing. And we are always happy to reward them for their hard work.”

Cash prizes will be awarded to 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place in both levels. They are awarded as follows: 1^st place $250; 2^nd place $150, and 3^rd place $100. Along with the cash prize winners, honorable mentions will also be selected. All collegiate winners including the honorable mentions will also be published in a special A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words Museum publication. The winning submissions will be announced November 17, 2016 at an award ceremony and essay reading.

All essays must be submitted to [email protected] no later than October 24, 2016 at midnight. The official competition rules can be found at albanymuseum.com/1000-words. For more information, please contact Chloe Hinton at [email protected] or by phone at (229) 439-8400.

This year's panel of judges is made up of: Jim Hendricks, Editor of the Albany Herald, Carlton Fletcher, Metro Editor of the Albany Herald and KK Snyder, Editor of Southwest Georgia Living magazine. They will review the anonymous submissions and determine the winners. The contest is sponsored by Steve and Bronwyn Hinton and Margaret Watts.