The 6th annual A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words essay contest for high school and college students will begin accepting emailed submissions on Friday, Aug 28, 2020.

“The top essayists—three from the high school category and three from the college level—each win a cash prize,” Annie Vanoteghem, director of education and public programming for the AMA, said. “Last year, we had 80 students submit essays in the competition.

“We hope it will encourage the students to spend some time with a specific piece of art that speaks to them in some way, from reminding them of an experience to sparking their imagination. It’s always fascinating to see how they express the experience of art.”

“It is necessary for a museum to break down the artificial barriers between the arts. This essay contest does just that,” AMA Executive Director Andrew J. Wulf, Ph.D., said. “The human creative impulse knows no boundaries, and it is exciting to see how these talented young people draw inspiration from the visual and channel these energies into the literary.” 

To participate, a high school or college student visits the museum and views six designated art objects in the current exhibitions. He or she then writes an essay of 1,000 words or fewer inspired by one of the six designated objects. The essay may be written as prose or poetry, may reference real-life events or be fictional, and may be written from any point of view. The six art objects are in the three current exhibitions at the museum—JUAN LOGAN: creating & collecting, Works by Brian Willmont, and Viberations of Pasaquan. All three exhibitions will continue at the AMA through the end of the contest.

Students who are residents of Southwest Georgia or who attend a Southwest Georgia university, college or high school are eligible to enter the contest. Dually enrolled students will compete in the college division.

Students may visit the galleries as often as they like to view the objects. The AMA does not charge admission, so there is no cost to visit.

For those concerned about safety, the AMA is following federal, state and local health guidelines, and is requiring all guests to wear face masks for the protection of other guests and museum staff. The museum is observing social distancing, and has disposable masks and hand sanitizer readily available for visitors who need them.

“Middle school students also can participate,” Vanoteghem said. “We will send images of the six objects to their teachers to share with them. There are no cash prizes at the middle school level, but we do recognize the top essayists.” 

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMA is allowing students who cannot come to the museum because of health concerns to view digital images of the six art objects. 

“Students who are unable to physically visit the museum to see the works may ask their teacher or the AMA Education Team to send them digital images of the selected works,” Vanoteghem said. 

Essays must be written in a Word document or a Word-compatible format. Essays may be submitted beginning Aug 28 to [email protected]. The deadline for submissions must be received by midnight on Saturday, Oct 3, 2020.

A panel of judges will determine the winning essays. The names of the essayists and the schools they attend will be deleted from the numbered copies of the essays that the judges will read. High school and college essays will be judged in separate categories. Official rules can be found at albanymuseum.com/1000-words-writing-competition.

Winners in the high school and college divisions will be announced on Thursday, Oct 22, 2020 at the AMA, provided that health guidelines at that date permit social gatherings. If the event cannot be conducted in-person, winners will be announced in an online event. 

For more information, contact Vanoteghem at [email protected] or at 229.439.8400.